Matos Gameiro Arquitectos

House in Alfama

House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão

HOUSE IN ALFAMA

Matos Gameiro Arquitectos

PHOTOGRAPHS
Daniel Malhão

AREA
140 m²

MANUFACTURERS
Azulima, FSB Franz Schneider Brakel, Hager, Ofa, SIMONSWERK North America, THPG, Weber, CYMISA, JNF

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Alfama, Portugal

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

Up on Alfama, near the Monastery of St Vincent de Fora and the National Pantheon, there is a Little square, which marks a pause in the steep slope leading down to the river.

House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão

This operation involves the rehabilitation of one of the buildings on the edge of the neighbourhood, a rare example of a medieval building in an area dominated by buildings raised since the earthquake of 1755.

It was a simple residence, which had resulted from the break-up of a larger palace complex that still exists.

House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão

Over the years, the occupation of this small building gradually led to the construction of new walls that defined interior subdivisions, resulting a house served by two courtyards.

The house was extended and altered, and the courtyards were gradually occupied.

This intervention aims to clarify the internal argument of the complex, reinforcing its inner meaning. If the courtyards determine the organization, the spaces between them are what form the focus of the programme.

House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão

The operation has resulted in four outdoor spaces, interspersed with narrow sheltered areas.

The whole complex, with its unroofed appearance, gives the idea of a ruin; suggests contention, with the nature and parsimony of monastic cells; and also evokes pleasure, given the way the courtyards are available to be used as outdoor rooms, stripped of any immediate function.

One of these outdoor rooms is filled with water, closing a cycle which, in the labyrinth of connections, is perpetuated.

House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão



House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão
House in Alfama
© Daniel Malhão


House in Alfama
Floor Plans
House in Alfama
Diagram
House in Alfama
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Matos Gameiro Arquitectos
T +351 218 124761
Matos Gameiro Arquitectos
R. Antero de Figueiredo 2, 1700-041 Lisboa, Portugal