Camarim

House in Gateira

House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido

HOUSE IN GATEIRA

Camarim Arquitectos

ARCHITECTS
Camarim Arquitectos

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Camarim Architects

COLLABORATORS
Tiago Garrido, Jonas Grinevicius, Christoph Schwander

PHOTOGRAPHS
Nelson Garrido

SITE AREA
2143 M2

AREA
403 M²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Portugal

CATEGORY
House

Text description provided by architect.

Gateira is a hamlet placed on a beautiful hill planted with vineyards, pines and olive trees with splendid views over the southern tip of Serra da Estrela, the highest point in mainland Portugal.

House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido

The clients - a British couple - wanted a second home to give them space, open air and silence, in contrast to their life in London.

The first question: how to design on such a dramatic landscape, with an unusual balance between nature, agriculture and traditional architecture?

House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido

Our strategy was to interfere as little as possible: one enters the house in the upper part of the plot, through a wall that evokes the region’s traditional slate buildings, and descends onto the house’s core – a social space split in 2 levels.

From this space, the house’s volume breaks and extends along the topography in a subtle yet effective separation between social and intimate i.e. Every space sits on a different level and has direct access to the outside. We may say that instead of a house in the landscape we thought of a house from the landscape, as though building a walk in the countryside.

House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido

Beyond the romantic notion of a well-grounded house, extensive contact with the ground gives enormous energy benefits:

We use the earth’s endless thermal mass to balance air thermal amplitudes throughout the day and seasons. The patio between the living room and the master bedroom is also a passive thermal device:

House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido

it creates a thermal differential between the swimming pool and the patio, which generates an ascending air flow across the house for cooling in spring and summer, and it allows intensive insulation of the most innermost point in the house in autumn and winter.


House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido


House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido


House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido


House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido
House in Gateira
© Nelson Garrido


House in Gateira
Plan 01
House in Gateira
Plan 02
House in Gateira
Plan 03


House in Gateira
Model
House in Gateira
Model

Camarim
T +351 218 825501
Camarim
Campo Grande 10E, 1700-092 Lisboa, Portugal