House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus

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House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus

Information

  • Completion year: 2009
  • Gross Built up Area: 174 sqm
  • Project Location: Alentejo
  • Country: Portugal
  • Lead Architects/Designer: Inês Cordovil, Helga Constantino
  • Structural Consultants: AFAconsult
  • Contractors: JDS, Manuel Mateus Frazão
  • Collaborators: Humberto Silva, André Passos, Susana Rodrigues, Joana Simões
  • Photo Credits: Joao Guimaraes, Nelson Garrido, Rui Cardoso
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Project Description

[Text as submitted by architect] Faced with the boundless extents of the Alqueva lake, the house requires a centre: a protected courtyard embracing the water. It uses the terrain to cast a dome that covers the social areas and is the life centre of the house.

House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Aires Mateus
House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Aires Mateus

An inverted dome intersects it and creates an opening that lights the space, shaping its precise geometry and limits. The bedrooms open onto circular patios. Amid a wide natural landscape, the scale of the house is that of the patios and superior dome. They are the sole visible elements, painted in radiant white.

House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Joao Guimaraes
House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Joao Guimaraes
House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Joao Guimaraes
House in Monsaraz | Aires Mateus
© Joao Guimaraes

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