It is the encounter between the river and the sea this small land is. It is more a part of a recent subdivision with well defined rules and some justifiable, but obviously castrating the creative freedom of any architect. More specifically this is the third batch of 26/94 blend, in the street of St. James, Vila do Conde.
Place of rare beauty and obvious where the same overlap any argument.
Interpreting the regulation of the subdivision, it is logical to conclude the search for some unity and organization throughout this set, on the other hand, there seems to be an effort to control the architectural language and forwards it to a higher quality and modernity. However, unity is not uniformity, cities have always been characterized by its diverse call unit, with the dialogue of languages, ways of life at different times. It seems to me to be some failure to regularize and implement this subdivision, this conspicuous failure in existing interventions, where the unit just comes down almost entirely to the volume tax (which is still not bad) and where the rules imposed at the level abroad were more or less fulfilled in a way that does not materialize in the architectural quality that the site deserves.
Contradictory to what seems to be the intent of this regulation, a number of constraints and limitations that prevent the transformation of the small volume established a habitable space, related to its future users, with the surrounding more or less direct and in which its exterior is precisely reflects this heterogeneity ways of living and solving the interior.
More specifically this project asks for a little more flexibility of the regulation which is only counteracted the placement of a small plane in the side elevation, which marks the entry and establishes relations with the idea of exposed already following spatial organization.
The volume set has dimensions of 7 meters in length by 12 in width. Is twinned with another equal volume and is distributed by, ground floor, first floor and basement, adding the side of St. James Street with a small volume function garage. To capture the entire space decided to make the main access by side elevation, thus saving area in circulation spaces. As the leading formal and organizational level idea was intended to organize the whole house around only two furniture, which are born in the basement and serve all compartments of the house to the roof, where they include in your volume all the traditional elements protruding. This attitude may seem a bit reductionist speculative but the fact is that long since ceased to exist the separation between the "box" and all the their contents, in this case there are only three volumes that assume different functions. The acceptance of this idea by the customer, provided lead rigorously to end this strong idea, doing it intentionally transpire outside both the differentiation of materials such as the separation of shapes and planes.
In everything else it provides spaces to inhabit, separated by function and location and ranked by the usual rules of privacy.
Aware of the risk of making some decisions justified by the existing reality and the strength of will to contribute to the architectural and environmental quality of the area concerned, I hope that there is understanding and consistency in design review and subsequent licensing decision.
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