A privileged position. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects
06/03/2023.
[Ponte de Lima] Portugal
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
The Portuguese architecture studio Lopes Pertile Architects was commissioned to design the Primus house. The house is located in the Portuguese town of Ponte de Lima, which is part of the northern district of Viana do Castelo. The city is considered the oldest in the country.
The proposal is located on the outskirts of the municipality in a semi-rural landscape. Located on top of a hill, it takes advantage of this condition to be close to nature to enjoy great contact with the environment thanks to its privileged location on the slopes where the land is located.
The proposal is located on the outskirts of the municipality in a semi-rural landscape. Located on top of a hill, it takes advantage of this condition to be close to nature to enjoy great contact with the environment thanks to its privileged location on the slopes where the land is located.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Situation plan. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects.
Ground floor plan. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects.
Elevation. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects.
Detail. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects.
Model. Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects.
Lopes Pertile Architects nicknames the house with the nickname "primus", a word that in Latin reflects its double condition, being the first work of the architect and the client. The proposal develops an "L" shaped plan on the hill where it is located, using it as an exceptional podium to dialogue with the horizon.
The housing program is organized with lateral access in a small access setback that leads to the public areas of the house: the living room and dining room. The kitchen is located at the crossroads of the two arms of the "L" as an intermediate joint between the public and private rooms made up of three bedrooms and a study.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.The housing program is organized with lateral access in a small access setback that leads to the public areas of the house: the living room and dining room. The kitchen is located at the crossroads of the two arms of the "L" as an intermediate joint between the public and private rooms made up of three bedrooms and a study.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
Project description by Lopes Pertile Architects
“This house represents my mind: sequential, rigorous, systematic and clear.”
These were the client’s words when seeing the project.
Therefore, the house becomes the reflection of who lives in it, which has been given a shape, transforming it into Architecture.
That’s why when the client expressed a strong desire about having an “L” shape house, we embraced this challenge, without preconceptions or clichés, through experimentation and above all, focusing on building well, following the project from its creative conception to its rigorous construction, thinking about the architecture as the art of giving.
From the Latin “primus”, so the first work is born, from the search for the essence, the primordium of something for its user, as well as for its creators.
Casa Primus looks at a generous hilly landscape and enjoys a privileged and unique view of a rural context, gently lay down on a natural podium.
The house is integrated with the site and belongs to it thanks to the topography design that allows the house to welcome the surroundings, in continuity with the landscape and vice versa.
The Architecture dialogues with the landscape creating a relationship that is neither mimesis nor antithesis, but the balance between them.
Primus house by Lopes Pertile Architects. Photograph by João Morgado.
This horizontal line of the house goes along with the horizontality of the hills, in a relationship of continuity. At the same time, the sight of this clear white line stands out against the sinuous profile of the hilly green background.
Thanks to their close proximity, the house and the landscape enhance and intensify their own different characters.
The exterior goes into the interior, through limited spaces, the porches, which are subtractions that break the “L” shape, becoming a place that hosts domestic life, sheltered transitional moments and lastly frames of the landscape.
The transition between the bedrooms and the porch was solved with the construction of a detail that allowed a fluid passage, without any obstacle at the floor or ceiling level, maintaining a constant height.
The glass surface of the bedrooms reflects the hill it faces and although it hosts several spaces, this partition is not read from the outside, because the interior walls do not extend to the façade, but rather reduce their thickness just before touching the window frame.
In this house, the custom-made details contribute to the simple and long-lasting construction, consistent with the economy of means.
Everything was thought, designed and custom built, this way the project can be read in its entirety, where the detail is the key to the whole and the whole can be reflected in its details, materialized by a careful work of local craftsmanship.
The constant goal for this project was the simplicity of its result which is nothing more than a solved complexity.
More information
Architects
Project team
Sara Pertile, Diogo Lopes.
Builder
Carpentry.- Marcarp.
Metalwork.- Serralharia Quintiães.
Metalwork.- Serralharia Quintiães.
Contractor
Fernando Caçador Lopes, Lda.
Area
270 m².
Dates
2022.
Location
Ponte de Lima, Portugal.
Manufaturers
Photography
Diogo Lopes and Sara Pertile. Lopes Pertile Architects
Lopes Pertile Architects is an Architecture Atelier based in Portugal and Italy founded by the Diogo Lopes and Sara Pertile architects. Its work is composed of small and big scale projects, at a national and international level. The Atelier has its roots in the contemporary Portuguese architecture, making sure the atelier follows its projects from their creative conceptual birth to their rigorous construction.
Diogo Lopes studied architecture at Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho in Guimarães, in Portugal and received an Erasmus scholarship at the IUAV University of Venice, Italy.
In 2015 he enrolled in an internship at CZ Studio Associati in Venice, where he started practicing architecture and where he later became a young associate. Nowadays, he is a founding member of Atelier Lopes Pertile Architects where he is the supervisor of landscape design, site planning and construction documents. He also oversees the construction as the main coordinator between all the parties involved in the projects.
Sara Pertile studied Architecture at IUAV University of Venice in Italy and at the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with an international exchange scholarship, she was distinguished with merit from both universities. She has worked in Portugal at Martins Architecture Office in Guimarães.
Nowadays, she is a founding member of the Atelier Lopes Pertile Architects where she oversees the design process of architectural conceptualization, interior projects and the coordinator of the creative department. She is also the social media manager and supervisor of public relations.
Diogo Lopes studied architecture at Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho in Guimarães, in Portugal and received an Erasmus scholarship at the IUAV University of Venice, Italy.
In 2015 he enrolled in an internship at CZ Studio Associati in Venice, where he started practicing architecture and where he later became a young associate. Nowadays, he is a founding member of Atelier Lopes Pertile Architects where he is the supervisor of landscape design, site planning and construction documents. He also oversees the construction as the main coordinator between all the parties involved in the projects.
Sara Pertile studied Architecture at IUAV University of Venice in Italy and at the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with an international exchange scholarship, she was distinguished with merit from both universities. She has worked in Portugal at Martins Architecture Office in Guimarães.
Nowadays, she is a founding member of the Atelier Lopes Pertile Architects where she oversees the design process of architectural conceptualization, interior projects and the coordinator of the creative department. She is also the social media manager and supervisor of public relations.
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