The Costa Nova do Prado, Portugal’s Atlantic coast, is famous for its distinctive palheiros – colourful striped cottages that emerged from converted wooden fishing warehouses. Over generations, they have been transformed into summer homes, attracting the eyes and hearts of holidaymakers from all over the world. Hidden in the shadow of these postcard-perfect structures is another, lesser-known but equally valuable strand of local architecture. It is from this that Casa Clara was born.
Casa Clara is an example of a building that draws on the folk architecture traditions of the Aveiro region, positioned somewhere between the famous palheiros and the so-called gandaresan, a rural house typical of the surrounding area. Although less striking than the colourful stripes on the wooden facades, the buildings, made of dried brick (adobe), often containing particles of seashells, are charming in their simplicity and modest decorativeness. Their facades are flat, complemented by details where roofs and eaves play a central role. Casa Clara was created on the initiative of the grandchildren of the original inhabitants – witnesses to the history of the site and heirs to the ruin. Their dream was to create a permanent dwelling here. The house is located on the corner of Rua do Meio, a street located between the ocean and the lagoon, whose elements are more palpable than visible. The building has four facades and a hipped roof with four dormers, giving it a cosy feel.
The western and northern facades face the public space, while the eastern and southern facades are bordered by narrow alleys typical of the region. The one on the eastern side serves as access to several houses, while the southern one is Casa Clara’s only private outdoor space. It is just a 1.5-metre corridor of light and tranquillity. The entrance to the house is directly from the street, so a small hallway has been designed to provide a buffer between the outside world and the living room, while also organising the living spaces and leading seamlessly into the kitchen. This in turn has its own exit to the street.
There is also a bedroom with en-suite bathroom on the ground floor, occupying the full width of the building and having access to the outside space. Two key but inconspicuous rooms are hidden under the stairs: a small toilet and a technical area with a laundry room, with a separate entrance from the outside. In the attic, two bedrooms and a bathroom are planned, which benefit from the irregular slopes of the roof, highlighted by wooden beams. Each room is fitted with a single mansard window, facing a different direction of the world. The facades of the house, including the decorative geometric details, box windows (albeit simplified), tile roof and classical eaves, have been retained. During the restoration, the materials began to tell their own story. The charm of raw adobe brick and wood was then discovered, which led the designers to opt for an earthy tone to the façade, which gave the building a more abstract yet deeply rooted character.
Project: M2.senos – arquitectos
Location: Costa Nova, Portugal
Area: 176 sq m.
Photography: Ivo Tavares Studio
Also read: single-family house | Metamorphosis | Portugal | Elevation | History | whiteMAD on Instagram
The house before and after the renovation
