House with Four Houses, Penafiel Residence, Portugal Residential Building, Portuguese Architecture
House with Four Houses
Contemporary Portuguese Residence ? design by prod architecture & design
8 Oct 2016
House with Four Houses in Penafiel
Architects: prod architecture & design
Location: Penafiel, Portugal
Houses in Penafiel

This holiday house for a family of four is located in the north of Portugal. It?s shape is defined by the same number of individual volumes. They have similar dimensions but distinct orientations.

Three of the volumes are orthogonally organized around a core, whilst a fourth rotates to match the direction of an existing neighbouring building.

The proximity between the two constructions led to a desired dialogue. The modest dimensions of the existing building determined the scale of the house while the vernacular identity influenced its layout.
Each volume has a two slope roof. Besides emphasizing its individuality it enabled to increase the plasticity of the composition.

The volumes of House with Four Houses are separated but disposed at a critical distance. It creates an interstitial space covered by a flat transparent roof and full size windows.

It is a special space with a hybrid character. The considerable dematerialization of its limits leads to be felt as both internal and external.

This solution meets the clients requirement to design a house with strong links with the surroundings. When moving from one room to another it allows ...