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Architects: BICA Arquitectos
- Area: 11840 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
Text description provided by the architects. The house is located on a plot overlooking the Sintra mountain range with the Pena Palace and the sea in the distance.
The main facade of the house faces south, parallel to the road, although the first image of the house is actually that which turns to the west and also corresponds to the space of the main entrance, a situation that is emphasized by the design of the upper balcony which has a close relation with the view of the sea and the mountains. The facade facing north, is more enclosed, with a protected garden and a lawn.
The underground floor is entirely covered with limestone. It was intended that the stone that resulted from the excavation would be reused in the construction of the walls of this floor, creating a massive foundation that suspends the ground floor that is all glass and which establishes a visual and functional continuity with the outdoor spaces, such as the large terrace, swimming pool, lounge areas, and open fire to the south, and the winter garden to the north. This image of transparency creates a strong contrast with the upper white volume, that through a spiral-like wall creates a large terrace inside and protects the private spaces from the surroundings, eliminating all the visual noise of the surrounding buildings and pointing our eyes at the sea.
This white volume suspends over the ground floor very close to the human scale, creating shadow and accentuating the image of lightness.