A house in Portugal is a solid carved in fair-faced concrete

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto’s Casa CG is the outcome of a twofold process of subtraction and addition of masses, applied to two base volumes in the shape of a house.

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal, 2010

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, ground floor plan

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, first floor plan

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, cross sections

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, Casa CG, longitudinal section

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Alessandro Benetti
11 November 2020
Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal
Pedro Henrique Arquiteto
420 sqm
private house
2010

The CG House by Pedro Henrique Arquiteto can be better described as a simple composition of volumes. Two blocks, two solids “in the shape of a house”, accommodate respectively the living area and the bedrooms. Their mutual 90 degree rotation avoids any visual or functional disturbance. The compactness of these base units, though, is immediately challenged by a twofold activity of subtraction and addition of masses: the spacious veranda, a seamless outdoor continuation of the living room, is a void subtracted from the built volume; on the other hand, the terrace shared by the bedrooms is an addition, a planned architectural superfetation, which can be screened when need be through a sequence of wooden screens.

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal, 2010

Pedro Henrique adopts the same strategy, though at a different scale, to multiply the channels that natural daylight enters the house: not just the abundant glass doors, but also the mezzanine’s large window, as well as the deep skylights and the tiny patio that light up the three bathrooms. As regards its materials, the interiors of the CG House are a comfortable and overall conventional environment, made of smooth, bright surfaces of wood, marble and stucco. On the contrary, on the outside Pedro Henrique’s building is a rough architecture, striped because of the vertical lines of both its concrete’s formworks and the wooden boards, which absorb light rather than reflect it. The fair-faced concrete ceilings in the corridor, alongside the darkened walls of the open air shower are exceptions. They establish a connection between the two atmospheres, to offer visitors a more complex visual and tactile experience.

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal, 2010

Casa CG
private house
Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal
Pedro Henrique Arquiteto
Ana Guedes
Mário Alves
private
420 sqm
2010

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, Arrifana, Santa Maria de Feira, Portugal, 2010

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, ground floor plan

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, first floor plan

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, CG House, cross sections

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto, Casa CG, longitudinal section

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Magazine

A house in Portugal is a solid carved in fair-faced concrete

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto’s Casa CG is the outcome of a twofold process of subtraction and addition of masses, applied to two base volumes in the shape of a house.

View Article details

Sections

Specials

Magazine

A house in Portugal is a solid carved in fair-faced concrete

Pedro Henrique Arquiteto’s Casa CG is the outcome of a twofold process of subtraction and addition of masses, applied to two base volumes in the shape of a house.

View Article details

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