Gerês House by Carvalho Araújo Architecture

Gerês house is located on a steep slope in the Caniçada Valley where there was a small house and a stream. The existing building was located in an upper level of the land eventually liable to small landslides, which determined its demolition and the relocation of the new construction. The new construction relates with the land in a very spontaneous way, taking advantage of its steep slope, of the small stream and of the privileged view over the landscape.

Gerês House: Rediscovering the landscape

The access to the house is made from the upper level, ensuring a full view over the lot and over the building that fits on the ground like a rock. However, it’s inside the house where the visual range allows us to (re)discover the land below, characterized by the irregular stream’s route that results in a small lake at the lower level. The building consists of two elements, a large wood volume that rests on a concrete base, which extends over the land and on the water line.

The use of these two materials extends inside the house, which does not seek a conventional program, but rather large, functional and multipurpose spaces, where pleasure and work are mixed. The social space of the house assumes special relevance, materialized in a large central living room which extends to the outside through a large terrace. The kitchen and services are arranged on the same floor of the living room and the most intimate program comes at a second level, relating with the first one in the form of a mezzanine.

Facts & Credits:
architecture: Carvalho Araújo, Arquitectura e Design
team: José Manuel Carvalho Araújo, Joel Moniz, Alexandre Branco, Leandro Silva, Ana Vilar, André Torres, Mafalda Santiago, Sandra Ferreira
project name: Casa do Gerês
client: José Maria Marques Ferreira
date: 2013 – 2015
location: Vieira do Minho | Portugal
Latitude: 41° 38’ 31.9”N
Longitude: 8° 12’ 16.4”W

landscape: João Bicho e Joana Carneiro, Arquitectos Paisagistas, Lda. (JBJC)
structures: Metaloviana – Metalúrgica de Viana, S.A.
contractor: PEDRALBET
photographer: ©NUDO
materials: Concrete, Wood and Glass

Text by the architects