Matos: House in Mosteiro

In the outskirts of Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, Arquitectos Matos designed a house surrounded by a diffuse and changing landscape.

The concept of the project combines the interpretation of the functional program of a single-family house with the specific premises of the clients, and also from the study of the characteristics of the lot and its surroundings and morphological conditions.

The house is organised on a single floor around a central courtyard, facing South and West, protected from the street on the North side. Shaped as an “L”, the house is divided in two parts – a longitudinal volume organises the service areas and the leisure zone, while the bedrooms are located in the shorter volume. An additional volume, a storage room placed in the limit of the terrain, accurately defines the central courtyard.

The access to the house is located on the east side, where a ramp serves as a transition between the level of the street and the main and service entrances. At the intersection of the two volumes, a void announces the main entrance, that through its transparency reveals the central courtyard and leads to the different areas of the house. The interior spaces are directly associated to the patio, though protected by the porch, that unifies different areas of the house.

The dining and living areas are organised in a unique living room, extending to the outdoor through natural light. The volume, simple and compact, is coated by an opaque ventilated façade made of prefabricated black textured concrete panels on its public surfaces, whilst its interior walls, facing the private patio, are fully open through the exterior. The background scenery of the courtyard and garden is framed by the “memory wall”, built out of stones collected from the demolition of the former building.

House in Mosteiro
Santa Maria Da Feira, Portugal
Architecture: Arquitectos Matos (Ricardo Matos, Nuno Matos)
Co-author: Luís Loureiro
Collaborator: Hugo Gomes
Client: Private
Project: 2008 – 2009
Construction: 2010 – 2012
Photography: João Morgado