Casa do Abacateiro

Isabel and Miguel wanted a house for their family, consisting of themselves and their daughter.

They wanted a bright house, with a workspace for Miguel, who works from home, a good kitchen with plenty of storage, and a comfortable living area. The bedrooms also needed to have good storage space, especially the master bedroom, which needed to have a walk-in closet. Both of them value green spaces and wanted these to be an integral part of the project's strategy.

We were specifically asked to design a space where an avocado tree would be transplanted. This tree belongs to Isabel and is a legacy left to her by her father. It is for this very special reason that we decided to call the project: Casa do Abacateiro (House of the Avocado Tree).

The site of the intervention is located in Amadora, in a consolidated urban area with an informal character. Although the area does not have a distinctive architectural style, we were able to find some elements that are repeated in the existing dwellings, namely: protruding balconies that mark the silhouette of the buildings, tiles that cover the ground floors and bring color and pattern to the streets; the houses are also punctuated with small green areas, usually in the space between the sidewalk and the houses. It was these characteristics that we drew on to guide us in the image that the house would have.

The house is characterized by being a four-bedroom property, with a volume that is positioned closer to the street and further away from the rear boundary, creating an unobstructed patio area that is directly connected to the social area of the house (living room, dining room, and kitchen). On the first floor, there are bedrooms and bathrooms—the bedrooms have balconies or terraces for enjoying the outdoors.

The interior is marked by a void—a double-height area that creates a direct connection between the ground floor and the first floor. There is also a floor below ground level (basement) that serves as a parking garage and laundry room.

The idea behind the project was to integrate it into its urban context, not wanting it to stand out beyond the common elements we identified in the surroundings. Greenery is an integral part of the image of the house, a strategy adopted by the fact that the entire area surrounding the development is marked by flower beds and green areas that are intended to be voluminous, while the balconies are characterized by the detail of having integrated flower beds and the roof is a green roof. In other words, the intention is to give prominence to greenery and for this to somehow “camouflage” the building, making it lighter in the landscape.