At the end of 2012, a young couple decided to build their house on a steep plot of land located in the city of Leiria in central Portugal. The plot was on a hill, its surface area was approximately 1,000 m2 and it had the added bonus of a eucalyptus tree.The design was entrusted to Contaminar Arquitectos, from whose pencil came the Villa on the Slope
This terrain presented certain constraints, but it was also an advantage which eventually became a characteristic feature of the project. The location of the plot on a hill made the house a tower dominating the city and the landscape
The studio’s premise was the idea of a dialogue between the house and the eucalyptus and the transformation of the regular, classical parallelogram into a form that, by deviating from the axis, creates a new form with balconies, shaded areas and terraces. Its rhythm is based on horizontal rings of 35 cm, separated by voids. A total of 18 rings have been created, each with a different shape, which wrap around the building from top to bottom. This arrangement of horizontal elements is also meant to evoke the staircase that connects earth and sky. Inside, Villa on the Slope is a game of half-storeys, aiming to connect some spaces while separating others and making them autonomous
The lowest rooms in this original house are the cellar, garage, laundry room and wine cellar. On the ground floor there are two large bedrooms and two additional rooms served by a single shared toilet. The first floor is the living area with living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. On the second floor is the leisure area with an outdoor pool with 360° views, a gym and a small reading room. Concrete was the material that best suited the studio’s and the client’s intentions and met the structural requirements, allowing the jars that wrap around the house to be cast. They have a dual protective use – both for sunlight and for privacy, creating a blind effect for those who live in it, as well as for those who watch the house from outside
Design: Contaminar Arquitectos
Source: www.mitty.cl
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