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.
Exuberância cromática
A colorful Lusitanian interior populated by large enigmatic objects, designed by Pedro Gadanho.
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- Guta Moura Guedes
- 29 April 2011
- Torres Vedras
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.
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.
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.
Design: Pedro Gadanho
Project Team: Pedro Gadanho, with Sara Silva Natária
Client: Guta Moura Guedes