HW STUDIO seeks to convey a sense of serenity and calm through the light of the project, inspired by the way light is treated in the Paula Rego Museum. Unlike the museum, a void is extracted in the shape of a "purépecha barn", for which the owner felt a special affection. The interior materiality of the house, made of wood, is also inspired by these typical traditional constructions.
Due to the small space of the plot, an attempt was made to achieve maximum spatial efficiency, in addition to solving lighting and ventilation from above. The entrance hallway hides the characteristic roof so that it can be revealed later. The house has an open ground floor where we can find the dining room and kitchen and an upper floor with a bedroom and a bathroom accessed by spiral stairs.
EMMA HOUSE by HW STUDIO. Photograph by César Béjar.
Project description by HW STUDIO
The architects at HW STUDIO tell how much they had heard about the Paula Rego Museum, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura, and how a few years ago they had the opportunity to visit it. Upon entering the museum, they were immediately moved. Under one of the pyramids, they were enveloped by a feeling of wonder and a serenity that is difficult to describe. The light filtered gently through a high skylight, falling like golden rays on the surfaces of the museum. Every corner of the building was bathed in a soft, velvety and warm light, which touched everything and gave it life. The way the light descended from those ceilings was relaxing, creating shadows and reflections that danced on the walls and floors. They all remember that they immediately felt embraced and protected. In this fascinating world of architecture, there are encounters that move, where light and space become elements that awaken emotions and create transformative experiences. Thanks to this context, they presented the project, Casa Emma.
The aim is to convey that same feeling of serenity and calm through the project's light. The way to capture the descending light is carefully explored, creating an immersive experience that seeks to touch those who enter the house. However, unlike Eduardo's museum, Casa Emma is understood as an excavation exercise, in which a void is extracted in the shape of a "purépecha barn", buildings for which Emma felt a special affection and attachment. For that reason, the interior materiality is completely made of wood, trying to emphasize this concept, making it more evident and evocative of those traditional constructions, with a sense of respect and continuity, while still transmitting the same feeling of serenity and calm through light.
The house being located on a small plot of land measuring 4.00 m x 10.00 m deep, it was necessary not only to solve the lighting and ventilation in a zenithal manner, but also to be very efficient with the use of space. At the front, an access corridor was placed that allows entry and, at the same time, hides the roof that is revealed further ahead. In the center, an open floor plan houses the living room, dining room and kitchen, with no divisions between them that exhaust the space. At the back, the refrigerator is hidden and the machine room-storage room is located, in addition to the vertical circulations, or stairs, that lead the inhabitant to a small hall that leads to the full bathroom or to the bedroom, which is housed on a "mezzanine."
This space is important plastically, since it is the only element that changes materiality: it is a white volume that floats inside the house. This choice of change of material seeks, in some way, to blur it or make it less heavy, as if it were a piece of cotton floating in space; for this, it was necessary for the light to blur its limits through reflection. The intention with this project is to offer visitors an experience that awakens emotions and invites them to contemplation, trying to convey to them an experience similar to that which can be experienced at the Paula Rego Museum. This house is an invitation to immerse oneself in a world where light becomes the language of emotions and connection with oneself. A space that pays homage to the beauty of light and to the story of Paula and Emma.
