Exuberância cromática

A colorful Lusitanian interior populated by large enigmatic objects, designed by Pedro Gadanho.

A timeworn house made of other people's stories in the old city centre, surrounded by other old houses and immersed in an unlikely urban fabric that was never actually designed. This was the original house around which the whole neighbourhood developed. On first inspection it was immediately clear that this house possessed structure, substance, clarity and potential. Nonetheless, some practical aspects had to be resolved, such as the fact that there was just one tiny bathroom whereas we needed four. We also required plenty of light but the window openings were tall and narrow. Light was an obsession and the windows would have to be thrown open and always kept that way. There was a need for a layout and new uses that would suit a flexible, nomadic and fluctuating family. And then, the old house was filled with large objects.

The issue of architectural scale became fascinating. When does an object stop being an object? Hanging on the walls, these large objects start at floor level, with some rising to the ceiling. They are suspended in unlikely places, some obvious and functional, others virtually pointless.

This apparent pointlessness is positive because it creates a mental space in a similar way to the colours, which have the same force as the forms. Pedro Gadanho and I did not discuss forms but colour—an awful lot, indeed for months on end until we came to an agreement. Colours can shape the light and transform a house; they call us in or push us away. Flows and rhythms appear between the doors and corridors, in a game of magnifying or containing space according to personal desire. A revamp of the terrace produced a blue swimming pool whose steps and shape are reminiscent of Villa Malaparte, a fetish of a house with filmic references. It is the other object, the one outside, but it comes into the house with varying degrees of force depending on the time of day.

Gadanho’s work on a house
in Torres Vedras, north of
Lisbon, introduced elements
in coloured lacquered wood
that clearly stand out from the
wall structure. For example,
a large green box houses the
library. The library is lit by the
Parentesi floor to ceiling
suspension lamp designed
by Achille Castiglioni with
Pio Manzù in 1970 and
manufactured by Flos.
The room is furnished with
a Frog Lounge Chair by Piero
Lissoni for Living Divani. — Gadanho’s work on a house in Torres Vedras, north of Lisbon, introduced elements in coloured lacquered wood that clearly stand out from the wall structure. For example, a large green box houses the library. The library is lit by the Parentesi floor to ceiling suspension lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni with Pio Manzù in 1970 and manufactured by Flos. The room is furnished with a Frog Lounge Chair by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani.

There is also a new skin that, in contrast to the old azulejos on the street facade, has stamped a section of grey metal onto the internal front, interspersed with glass that winds into an outside staircase. The addition of a second floor, moreover, creates a new space that acts as a neutral counterpoint to the exuberance of colour on the first floor. Neutral because white, it nonetheless remains consistent via the use of the same peaceful formal language. Upstairs you can catch your breath, away from the bustle below. The whole house vibrates by itself, even when no one is there.

Large mysterious objects
scattered around the house
bring a theatrical effect
to the existing space and
provide essential functions such
as the wardrobe between the
two children’s bedrooms. — Large mysterious objects scattered around the house bring a theatrical effect to the existing space and provide essential functions such as the wardrobe between the two children’s bedrooms.

We have moved in now and life here is not spontaneous because the colours and large objects possess a life of their own, independent from ours, and function autonomously. We realise this, day by day. We are having fun trying out the different rooms and discovering the best way to live in them, only to change our minds the next day.

There is no combination of idioms here; there is an original language to which a new alphabet has been added. An alphabet that seems able to produce new words which can then be used in conversations that are already old.

Large mysterious objects
scattered around the house
serve two purposes: as well
as bringing a theatrical effect
to the existing space, they
provide essential functions such
as the
bathroom (shaped like a large
pill) and a belvedere for quiet
contemplation. — Large mysterious objects scattered around the house serve two purposes: as well as bringing a theatrical effect to the existing space, they provide essential functions such as the bathroom (shaped like a large pill) and a belvedere for quiet contemplation.

Sometimes we sit outside on the zinc roof of the upstairs terrace just to take in the overall effect. There is no combination of idioms here; there is an original language to which a new alphabet has been added. An alphabet that seems able to produce new words which can then be used in conversations that are already old. In this house, there are some days when we feel part of a story started by us, and other days when different stories reach us, without our knowing from whence or why.

A small bathroom
is hidden in a purple box on
the stair landing, which is lit by
a Chasen S suspension light
designed by Patricia Urquiola
and manufactured by Flos. — A small bathroom is hidden in a purple box on the stair landing, which is lit by a Chasen S suspension light designed by Patricia Urquiola and manufactured by Flos.

Design: Pedro Gadanho
Project Team: Pedro Gadanho, with Sara Silva Natária
Client: Guta Moura Guedes

The house extends outside
with a two-level terrace linked
by a spiral staircase. The shape
of the swimming pool, with
its steps, is a subtle reference
to Villa Malaparte, designed
and built by Adalberto Libera
in Punta Massullo, Capri,
between 1938 and 1940 — The house extends outside with a two-level terrace linked by a spiral staircase. The shape of the swimming pool, with its steps, is a subtle reference to Villa Malaparte, designed and built by Adalberto Libera in Punta Massullo, Capri, between 1938 and 1940

Exuberância cromática

A colorful Lusitanian interior populated by large enigmatic objects, designed by Pedro Gadanho.

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