a house in Luanda - patio and pavillion | nuno silva

selected for the top 30 list Description The purpose was based on the concept of "patio" as the central link on the organization of the entire house and the extension of its social area. The house comes down to one-floor rectangular volume with four sloping roofs, occupying the entire width of the lot. The last option is related to the fact that the walls of the next-door building create the boundaries of the lot in a natural way. This feature establishes a connection in terms of urban “mesh” that, regardless of the modulation or adaptation to various topographical morphologies, maintains a harmonious unity. The direct relationship with the street and the need to propose an open and luminous area was incompatible with the need for intimacy of the inhabiting purpose. Having this in mind, it was decided to open all of the compartments to the inner patio, releasing the exterior walls to become the boundary to the next lot. The “main” entrance possesses a direct open to the inner patio through a covered area ..."the space where friends gather together and talk about their life stories"... It is in this space that all the family social activities happen (ex. grinding cereals - pestle) ... In coordination with the inner patio, there is, inside the covered social area. Through this space it is made the distribution to the private areas of the house (to rest) and to the back yard. Once it is a country with a tropical weather, the thermal characteristics of the house were taken into special consideration, namely building systems, in order to minimize the use of mechanical equipment. In the same way, the used techniques and materials for the construction play an important role. It was applied materials that permit to maximize the usage of local resources. Their construction simplicity, with the auto-construction, can be foment the development of the local economy.