Quinta da Amieira

Portugal

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Quinta da Amieira

Portugal

Firm

PF Architecture Studio

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2021

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

Quinta da Amieira aimed to refurbish and expand a wooden family house constructed in the 1970s at the heart of Maia, Porto.

The house had remained vacant for several years, having been the residence of a family of six who gradually moved away from it over the decades.

Situated on a 7000m2 plot adorned with cork oaks, chestnut trees, and alders, the house boasted a typical Midwest design—a wooden structure resting on a sturdy concrete base, topped with a fiber cement roof.

Despite its predominantly wooden construction and being entirely surrounded by trees and plants, the house remained an incongruous element within the context even 50 years after its initial construction.

The sole link between the interior and the exterior was the entrance door, with no integration between the interior spaces and the lush exterior.

Despite the family's prolonged absence from this space, they retained a deep emotional attachment to it. Their intention was to intervene in both the house and the surrounding land, not merely to create a family dwelling, but a familial space where grandparents, children, and grandchildren could convene, spend nights, relish the garden, cultivate, and even raise animals.

The objective was for the house to embody the essence of family, the joy of social interaction, a love for nature, and intergenerational learning.

The primary conditions laid out encompassed thermal enhancement, increased internal luminosity, expanding the room count, and transforming all room spaces into suites. Externally, the goal was to create a damper zone for the neighborhood, characterized by multifamily features, including a small cultivation area, space for rearing small animals, a swimming pool, and several auxiliary structures to support the overall vision.

The existing character paved the way, with Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie and Schwartz houses serving as references for the project. All elements of the preexisting structure—interior and exterior walls, functional layout, and placement of openings—were reused. However, the house underwent a transformation, transitioning from its Midwest origins to a Hamptons-style vibe. The brown wooden exterior turned white, small windows became doors, the interior kitchen relocated to a north-facing glass structure, intimately connected to the garden. Skylights were introduced, infusing once dim spaces with light.

The living/dining room, concealed from its surroundings for decades, now opens to the garden in two levels, where the outdoor terrace culminates in the swimming pool.

The outdoor space, conceived by atelier OhLand!, evolved from a vegetation-covered setting to a winding path meandering around existing trees, at times drawing close or moving away from the house, creating diverse landscapes within the property.