Drawn on Local Vernacular Thatch
Comporta is an area on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, south of Lisbon, which is popular with tourists internationally. The project is a big farm with a large, plentiful rice field between the estuary of the river Sado and the sea. Historically, the population of farmers and fishermen lived in houses and small shelters made of wood with thatched roofs. These clusters of simple volumes formed the traditional typology that gives Comporta its characteristic and unique appearance. The L32 house was built on an irregularly shaped plot, in an area between a large patch of bamboo and a scenic, 20,000,000m2 rice field, whose color varies with each season of the year: watery blue in spring, verdant green in summer, the yellow of the mature plant in autumn, and brown when the earth is at rest in winter. The landscape of the plot also comprises dune vegetation, characteristic of the area, and several large fig trees which have been preserved.
The house measures 450m2, distributed over five modules, the biggest of which is the living room with glass walls and ceilings. It is protected by an exoskeleton structure made of round sticks, that functions as brises-soleils controlling the room’s internal temperature in the hot summer months without resorting to air conditioning systems.
The same wooden batons, painted white, are applied to the ceiling to filter out sunlight. From inside the room, occupants can see the beautiful green landscape that surrounds the house and at night the stars in the sky.
The thatch used to cover all the bedrooms is also an important element for regulating the interior temperature and the formal composition of the house; the same material is used in sliding shutters.
The terrace, with two large cushioned benches and a square metal table, is covered by a wooden and glass structure with a similar shape to the living room.
In the area most protected from the north wind, and with a splendid view over the rice paddies, is a rectangular infinity pool.
Project: House in Comporta / Location: Brejos da Carregueira L32, Comporta, Portugal / Architect: Guedes Cruz Arquitectos / Project team: José Guedes Cruz, César Marques, Marco Marinho, Margarida Santos Lima / Use: House, Residential / Site area: 5,274m2 / Bldg. area: 450m2 / Completion: 2020 / Photograph: ⓒRicardo Oliveira Alves
