Mix of forces, past - present. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
12/01/2021.
[Mafra - Lisbon] Portugal
metalocus, JULIO RODRÍGUEZ
metalocus, JULIO RODRÍGUEZ
João Tiago Aguiar has designed the Mafra House, located very close to the old Convent of the Franciscan Friars dating from 1730, a national monument, which is currently called the National Palace of Mafra. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2019. It is located in the homonymous town, in the Lisbon District, a few kilometers from the Portuguese capital, in Portugal.
The architect is aware of the strong architectural value of the Palace when designing the house. For this reason, he tries to create a mixture and a synthesis that allow dialogue between the past and the present. A connection between the palatial architecture of the eighteenth century, the traditional architecture of a rural environment together with the soft contemporary intervention that seeks to integrate.
The architect is aware of the strong architectural value of the Palace when designing the house. For this reason, he tries to create a mixture and a synthesis that allow dialogue between the past and the present. A connection between the palatial architecture of the eighteenth century, the traditional architecture of a rural environment together with the soft contemporary intervention that seeks to integrate.
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar. Photograph by Fernando Guerra FG+SG
Ground floor plan. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
First floor plan. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Lower floor plan. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Elevation East. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Section AA'. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Section BB'. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Section CC'. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
Section DD'. Mafra House by João Tiago Aguiar
The Mafra House, designed by the architecture firm led by João Tiago Aguiar, is located between party walls with other houses characterized by being very simple traditional houses in their typology. The house is developed on three levels taking advantage of the unevenness of the ground level. The pre-existing wall and the number of openings of the original house are maintained to maintain the same architectural composition of its origin.
For the exterior color, white is used, which creates a contrast with the use of a warm color range in the neighboring homes. Showing that past-present dialogue very visible throughout the house. Also, it remains permeable to the outside, it does not seek to isolate itself. At the same time, the house on the ground plan is perceived as a corrugated rectangle, in those gaps that open onto the gardens allow generating attractive spaces.
For the exterior color, white is used, which creates a contrast with the use of a warm color range in the neighboring homes. Showing that past-present dialogue very visible throughout the house. Also, it remains permeable to the outside, it does not seek to isolate itself. At the same time, the house on the ground plan is perceived as a corrugated rectangle, in those gaps that open onto the gardens allow generating attractive spaces.
Description of project by João Tiago Aguiar
The Mafra House, located by the Palácio Nacional de Mafra, a national monument better known by the contiguous Convent of Franciscan friars, is a project that has created a singular mix of forces between the past and the present.
To be fully accomplished, the project considered aspects such as the palace's proximity and the heterogeneous buildings that surrounds the house, as well as the ruined façade of the old house, a key element in the architectural development.
The central idea was to take advantage of the ruined pre-existing façade; a façade which, when recovered, visually highlighted the new house. The goal was to find an equilibrium, given the diversity of the houses in the surrounding area and the proximity to the national monument.
Built from scratch, the Mafra House appears recessed inside the plot and detached from the ruined façade, emerging a space between the two façades in which the old construction highlights and values the house itself.
The house is a single volume, totally in white colour and robust in appearance with gable roof and three patios, one patio per elevation that softens the solid house appearance by introducing rhythms to the construction through the visible recesses in the elevation planes which allowed the opening of sheltered windows from the outside.
The main entrance is made through an antechamber, which mediates the new and the old façades. This part of the house is the most singular for its visual interest, introducing, at the same time, more security to its residents in a street where there is no sidewalk.
Although placed in a diversified architectural context, there is a common feature to almost all the houses, which is the presence of the two floors above the threshold, a characteristic that this project respected, having been added a subbasement with garage, only possible by lowering the entire plot at the back allowing the introduction of windows open over the access ramp to the garage. The design of this ramp also includes a recess in the north façade, at the ground-floor level, widening the adjacent street to allow car access to the garage. On the first level, the floor plan also occupies this void, thus resulting in a console area.
The nearby wall of Tapada de Mafra, served as a source of inspiration and an opportunity since it creates a perfect harmony with the refurbished old façade. To achieve this goal, the façade went through a make-up in which the stonework was restored, remaining visible the secular masonry.
The main concern in developing this project was to create a house with contemporary lines, functionally and visually fitted into the architectural surroundings, with the old façade leading to the imaginary of traditional houses.
More information
Architects
Design team
Responsible Architects.- João Tiago Aguiar. Project team.- Rúben Mateus, Susana Luis, João Nery Morais, Maria Sousa Otto, Arianna Camozzi, Samanta Cardoso de Menezes, Diogo Romão, Constança Lino, Francisco Duarte, Renata Vieira.
Collaborators
Engineering.- João Esteves.
Builder
PMJ.
Area
311 sqm.
Dates
Completion Year.- 2020.
Manufacturers
Paints.- CIN. Sanitary equipment & TAPS.- BRUMA, SANTANA, PADIMAT. Electric hardware.- EFAPEL. Carpentry & kitchen.- JORGE ANTÃO LDA. Lighting.- CLIMAR. ETICS.- IMPERMAX. Impermeabilization.- BASF. Frame work.- MY WINDOW. Wood Floring.- HAVWOOD.
Location
3 Canal St, Mafra, Lisbon, Portugal.
Photography
Joao Tiago Aguiar
Joao Tiago Aguiar. Born in Lisbon – Portugal, in 1973. Architecture Degree by Faculdade Arquitectura Universidade Técnica Lisboa in 1996.
Collaboration with van Sambeek & van Veen, Amsterdam, Holland, between years 1997 and 2000 and with Broadway Malyan, Portugal, from 2000 until 2004. In 2004 establishes the architecture firm in partnership. In 2008, proceeds individually under the name João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos.
The office, located in the city centre of Lisbon, is mainly focused in the discipline of Architecture, counting already with a large number of built and ongoing projects. Designing furniture and lighting are also part of the design process of the office.
Various projects have been published in different national and international architecture magazines, architecture websites and books.
Collaboration with van Sambeek & van Veen, Amsterdam, Holland, between years 1997 and 2000 and with Broadway Malyan, Portugal, from 2000 until 2004. In 2004 establishes the architecture firm in partnership. In 2008, proceeds individually under the name João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos.
The office, located in the city centre of Lisbon, is mainly focused in the discipline of Architecture, counting already with a large number of built and ongoing projects. Designing furniture and lighting are also part of the design process of the office.
Various projects have been published in different national and international architecture magazines, architecture websites and books.
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