On the site, that was being used as a planting field, we found the typical granite walls, a stone pit, some fruit trees and bushes. Those walls were recovered and the trees, the bushes and the stone pit were kept in their original place, in order to preserve the identity of the site.
The strong slope of the topography of about 5 meters between the street and the top of the site defined the planning of the house in two floors, nevertheless it was sought that both floors had direct connection with the outside garden.
In the lower floor, which occupies half of the implantation, we have a porch that allows car parking but can also be used for other activities, like children’s parties. From this space, we have access to the laundry, to a toilet, a storage room, the technical area and to the atrium that allows access the upper floor through the stairs.
On the upper floor, we have 3 bedrooms faced south, one with dressing room and private bathroom, the other two have a shared bathroom. In the posterior zone, oriented west, we have the office, the kitchen and the living room, which extend to the outside through the deck zone, connecting to the swimming pool area.
About the house finishing’s, on the lower floor the walls and the flooring of the toilet and the laundry are covered with polished white marble panels. The outdoor black concrete flooring defines the house entrance and the shale gravel outlines the crawling vegetation areas.
On the upper floor, the outside walls and ceilings are covered in ETICS system; through the interior, the solid pine flooring runs through the whole house and shines in the lacquered wood. In the bathrooms, the walls and floors are covered with polished white marble panels. In the kitchen, the countertop and part of the floor are in white silestone “Zeus” slabs from Consentino, and the dishwasher is made with the same material.
In the pool, the interior is covered with a white screen and the edges of the walls are covered with dekton plates also in white.
While developing architectural projects, we look for solutions that improve the houses, taking advantage of current solutions, without using complex systems. We also seek, when possible, to use local workers and materials from the region to reduce the impact of the transportation.
In Touguinhó III House, the main spaces are faced South and West, in order to make the best use of natural lighting and solar heating. However, these two factors are controlled by artificial shades and blades on the outside that allows the protection of the excessive sunlight when necessary.
In the house, all the rooms have doors and windows connecting the indoor and the outdoor spaces, favoring an easy ventilation and the use of natural lighting. The spaces where the use of water is frequent (bathrooms, laundry, engine room and kitchen) are provided with forced ventilation mechanisms for air renewal.
Outside, the existing water well allows its use for watering the garden and for the maintenance of the pool and thus, sparing the use of the public piped water.
Vila do Conde
Portugal
Liliana Maria Gomes Carvalho
12/2016
340.00 sq. m
Raulino Silva Architect
Raulino Silva Architect
Direct administration
Raulino Silva Architect
Raulino Silva Architect
João Morgado
Curriculum
Raulino Silva (1981) is an architect who graduated in 2006 from Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Portugal.
Awards and nominations:
Selected for the Architecture Award “The Plan 2016” with Gandra House, Italy; 1st Prize in the “International Baku Architecture Award 2015” with the “Cemetery Expansion”; finalist in the “Next Landmark 2015 Competition” with Gandra House; nominated for the “Construir 2014” awards with “Senhor dos Passos Chapel”; selected for the “Enor 2014 Architecture Award” with “Cemetery Expansion”; 3rd Prize in the "International Baku Architectural Award 2013" with the Equipment for Work Events II; finalist in the “Next Landmark 2013 Competition” with Touguinhó House II; 2nd place in the tender "Shop Concessions in Vila do Conde Market"; finalist in the National Prize for Architecture in Wood 2011”, with Wooden Shade Structures; honourable mention in the II “Architecture and Life Competition 2004”; 2nd place in the 2003 Bergamo Architecture Prize.