Contaminar Povo

Contaminar Architects

Short description

The unique geological context immediately gave architects a conceptual starting point that is both dreamlike and romantic without losing the connection to what is the physical and intrinsic reality of this place. Thus arises the idea of a cave, an austere carved and denticulated refuge that is humanized by its occupants. This premise is a tribute to the beginnings of humanity and its symbiotic relationship with the environment it inhabits, it contains in itself the paradox of the perennial and harsh stone that becomes a natural and maternal refuge.

This detached house carefully balances the game between the glimpse of the surrounding pine forest and the privacy of its residents. The project has a multiplicity of circuits that order spaces with harmony and simplicity through a central element: light, which interacts breaking the primitive elements and the sinuous lines with subtlety.

Povo respects and adapts the cut of the land in relation to its original layout, differentiates itself in a subtle and delicate way maintaining a harmonious relationship between the public and the private. The spatial distribution and volume of the rooms follow and reflect the topography of different levels. The soft elevation ramp allows direct access to the patio, the living room and the kitchen, connecting all elements both inside and outside.

The creation of an internal garden with ramps gives the project the necessary integration, in addition to the almost playful sensorial expression used by children with the interconnection of the garden to the roof, allowing a permeability of the cave with the frameworks that section the spaces built with the garden.

The exposed concrete with wooden slatted formwork is the predominant constructive element on the facades and dates back to a density that follows a monolithic volumetry and creates the protection that inspires it: a humanized cave.