Casa da Encosta – Santo Tirso, Portugal
Title
Casa da Encosta – Santo Tirso, Portugal
Designed by
Ricardo Azevedo Arquitecto
Image Credit
© Ivo Tavares Studio
Website Source
Project Description
Project description provided by Ricardo Azevedo Arquitecto - There are houses that struggle to understand and connect with their setting, showing a certain
unease or lack of coherence in the choice of where to settle — choices that, for emotional
reasons or creative visions, end up being jusjpgied and even triumphant! Some houses are like
that, which only makes it more surprising and pleasant when we discover that the house
reimagines itself, shaping a unique and personal atmosphere that gives it both context and
identity. A generous stretch of land, with gentle topography, accepts the presence of a built
volume: a linear, single-story structure, placed lightly above the ground, opening towards an
interior-facing exterior — an inward-looking outdoor space, sheltered from a not-so-appealing
surrounding.
Perhaps this was the project's greatest challenge. Perhaps this was where the developers most
exceeded their own doubts and expectations: wanting that specific plot, but envisioning a
refined, quiet environment — free from visual or sensory noise of any kind. A desire to still feel
the place, but live in a world “of their own”, contemporary and elevated in quality.
The construction itself is shaped by a simple layout and even simpler, perhaps wiser, material
choices. It seeks sunlight and exposure, follows a rational, functional organisation, structured
by horizontal circulations that connect social areas, private spaces for rest and retreat, and areas
for fun or support. It opens to the outside — a large green lawn — creating overlapping paths
and surfaces, blending glass and aluminium (as key elements of lightness and clarity) with
concrete and paint (as supporting and energising materials), aiming for a calm, familiar way of
living. Ultimately, everything the owners dreamed of — proving architecture to be that creative
act of embracing the new and artistic, placing beauty and imagination in the service of people,
and for people.
