AUZprojekt: dr. reginaldo spenciere house

‘dr. reginaldo spenciere house’ by AUZprojekt, vila do conde, portugalimage © AUZprojektall images courtesy of AUZprojekt

the ‘dr. reginaldo spenciere house’ by portuguese firm AUZprojekt is built for an immigrant doctor, near the atlantic coast where random fragmented treasures from the ocean are constantly washed up on shore as they are being ground down into sand. a stone masonry wall pays homage to this ancientnatural cycle, uniting all floors of the house, framed in a folding concrete shell forming the archetypal symbol for a house with a curious interplay ofexposure and concealment. the kitchen and social areas are located on the top level to enjoy the ocean-views, topped only by a bunk bed located in theattic that is further disconnected from the lower program. these anchor functions free the remainder of the home for flexible use only limited by theowner’s imagination. a patchwork of retractable wooden screens oriented perpendicularly to one another cover the apertures that break the continuousconcrete envelope. elevation lines are extruded from the neighboring dwellings maintaining an appropriate urban scale, allowing floor heights to dictatethose of the residence while the balconies break free from the grid and behave all their own.

view from the shoreimage © AUZprojekt

wrapping concrete shellimage © AUZprojekt

textured wooden screens cover the openingsimage © AUZprojekt

living room on the top floorimage © AUZprojekt

wooden lofted space as the bedroom in the atticimage © AUZprojekt

retractable walls separate spacesimage © AUZprojekt

wooden steps cantilever from the stone wallimage © AUZprojekt

(left) bedroom area(right) view from bedroomimage © AUZprojekt

view of the ocean from the social spacesimage © AUZprojekt

image © AUZprojekt

terrace at nightimage © AUZprojekt

location

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

floor plan / level -1

project info:

dates: 2006-2010location: Labruge, Vila do Conde, Portugalclient: Dr. Reginaldo Spenciere
architecture: AUZprojekt – Jorge Lapa, José Mário Macedo, Pedro Santos structural engineering: Inforpóvoa, Lda – Manuel Rui Santosplumbing engineering: Inforpóvoa, Lda – Manuel Rui Santoselectrical engineering: Francisco Baptistadomotics: Franklim Moraislandscape architecture: Cirurgias Urbanas
surface area: 242 m²