Courtyard Houses
Souto Moura - Arquitectos, SA. Matosinhos, Portugal
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Name of work in English
Courtyard Houses
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Name of work in original language
Casas com pátio
Prize year
EUmies Awards 2001
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Work Location
Matosinhos, Portugal
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Studio
Souto Moura - Arquitectos, SA
EUmies Awards 2001 Shortlisted
Collaborators
Collaborator (office): Silvia Alves, Manuela Lara, Filipe Pinto da Cruz, Pedro Mendes, Teresa Gon, Laura Peretti; Construction company: Not Defined Comporto; Consulting: Not Defined GOP-Gabinete de Organiza, Not Defined Lda; Raul Serafim
Program
Single house
Completion
2000
An aristocratic villa with a beautiful garden had been sold and was being used as a venue for wedding celebrations. The house s vegetable garden, running parallel to Porto de Leixões, was sold off as plots for development. A new road, proposed by the local authority, was to cut diagonally across the vegetable garden to leave a triangle (one plot) and a trapezium (nine plots). The project sets out to occupy the trapezium, dividing it into four small and five large plots, with swimming pools and annexes.
The plots are separated by parallel walls, which support three strips of concrete that act as roofs. The spaces between the walls are courtyards, where the vegetation will grow up above the walls to merge with the neighbouring gardens and fields. I believe that the place, laid out with walls and trees, will retain its identity.