Pema Studio designs home in Portugal as "a dense and closed fortress"

[Celerity]

https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/04/forte-house-pema-studio-portugal/









Architecture practice Pema Studio drew on the idea of a protected fortress when creating the Forte House, a blocky, white-rendered home that replaces a neglected existing structure in Santo Tirso, Portugal. The dwelling is set back from a retained façade and sits within existing stone perimeter walls on the site, creating an exterior space around its edges with private, skylit patios.















"The house is designed in a complex balance between the creation of a dense and closed fortress and the reinterpretation of the typical patio house, looking for a protected oasis in its intimate relationship with the sky," said Pema Studio. "The intervention starts from a massive block that impertinently detaches from the limits and mimics the land plot outline."









The retained façade and a metal gate of the former building now lead into an entrance courtyard, sheltered by a sloping roof punctured by a large opening. Set back from the street, an entrance is tucked into the northern side of the home's white exterior, leading into the more secluded study and bedroom at the front.










"The old façade, an element of the pre-existing [fabric], is one of the few remaining elements," said the studio. "With the necessary functional changes, it was restored and rehabilitated as an element of cohesion and framing with the adjacent urban fabric, reducing the intervention's impact on the street," it continued.

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[cbabe]

1. Cubicle living. No thanks.

[Celerity]

2. that is not cubical living nt