The house was placed on an elevated part of the terrain, away from lower the wetlands. The slope and the preexisting trees oriented the house's spatial and internal arrangement, opening up towards the South and protected from the predominant Northern winds.The sight lines to the Peñafiel castle tower, just across the border in neighbouring Spain, to the Salvaterra church pinnacle and to the surrounding landscape provided the opportunities for window openings and the resulting views.Two volumes were projected: One volume holds the house's more prominent public areas, with living and dining areas, kitchen and a large fireplace typical to some of Portugal's inland vernacular dwellings. Another longer volume houses the more intimate spaces, namely the bedrooms and larger bathrooms. Both these areas are fluidly interconnected by a hall and entrance, which allows for complete separation of the two volumes while offering the possibility of complete openness to the outdoors.The house was built using mostly local construction materials and solutions adapted to current requirements and design, namely by integrating daylighting techniques and sun-shading elements into the overall design, cross-ventilation for free cooling and air renewal for the hot Summer months, and solar heat supplements achieved through wall design and glazing options requiring minimum energy consumption for Winter heating.
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