Photomaton House

The building is in an elevated position, surrounded by trees, felling the presence of the sea 300 metres away. The light is intense, and the house builds itself from that. The walls do not reflect the light in a glaring way; on the contrary, they receive it, allowing for the relationship with the exterior to be direct and not mediated by filters. The house opens up to the landscape along its longitudinal axis. Two pre-existing structural walls in concrete traverse the space and mark the design project. The living room and kitchen extend on to the same balcony facing south. The passage through the wall that separates them is dematerialised by mirrored limits, which unifys the space. The bedrooms feature new windows that open on to the landscape, new in the sense that they are the result of the boosted reflection of the materials used. The light passes over and traverses the materials softly. The spaces reflect themselves, creating an atmosphere that accompanies and adapts to the changes as the days go by.

 

 

“The past, memory and experience constitute that basis of unreality which, similar to a light beam, lights up the now, revealing how it is full of surprises, how it is already destined to become memory and is already part of that uncontrollable grammar of the dreamer."  
– Herberto Helder, Photomaton and Vox, Lisbon, 1979

 

 

Location: Oeiras, Portugal | Client: FTorrinha, SA | Area: 100 m2 | Architecture: João Carmo Simões; Colaboration: Marta Onofre and Marta Tornelli | Materials: Concrete, Glass, Polished Stainless Steel, Estremoz Marble Stone