Location: Porto, Portugal
Years: 2016-17
Status: Private Commission
Architect: fala
Built Project Team: Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, Ahmed Belkhodja, Rute Peixoto, Lera Samovich, Paulo Sousa
Landscape architect: Pomo
Surface area: 70m2
Client: private
Contractor: Engilaco lda
Photography: Ricardo Loureiro

This is a look at the exterior of the house with colorful exterior walls and large glass windows.

This is another exterior look at the house with its glass windows and a small balcony.

The interior has white walls that complement the hardwood flooring.

The bright white walls and ceiling make the colorful doors stand out.

The opposite side of the two colorful doors is a bright row of glass windows the bring in natural lighting.

This is an aerial view of the house and how it stands out against the surrounding houses.

This is an illustration of the house façade as well as the floor plan.

A bourgeois 19th-century house is divided into four identical living spaces sharing a private backyard. The project happens within a given system of constraints, aiming at an unexpected complexity, finding interest within a very banal set of decisions. The front façade is almost unchanged. The shabby tiles are replaced by polished green marble contrasting with the roughness of the existing granite frames.

Only a circle of white marble is added to balance the composition. Unorthodox everyday spaces are built according to a clearly defined syntax and grammar. The four living rooms are different from each other while sharing the same language, the same set of figures: the stepped wall, the curved surface, two doors (one pink and one green), a stripped wooden floor. The back façade is rebuilt. It becomes taller to match the neighbor’s scale, like a mask or a temple, with two square windows framing interior scenarios.

The polished surface has a bold pattern of vertical stripes assembled with white, green, and black marble, creating a rich, yet flat, exterior appearance. The entrance door is hidden within the pattern; a brass circle on top ends the piece. The pattern disguises the scale of the building and its program while being unnecessarily exuberant. The back façade becomes a painting for neighbors to look at, the main façade for private use.