Penafiel House, Portugal | Graciana Oliveira


Located in Penafiel, Portugal, this house by architect Graciana Oliveira stands out for its volumetric purity. A minimalist, compact dark grey monochrome building skin contrasts with the calm, clear and white interiors. 

Photography © João Morgado



Description from Graciana Oliveira:

In a new area of the city, overlooking the city park, the conditions of implantation, areas and levels, have already been defined in the building site.
The ground level is 1.50 meters above the level of the sidewalk. Snipping the wall above this height minimizes its impact. The sight of this fence wall is hardly noticed when we are inside.
We intend to create volumetric purity, an austere, compact and monochrome volume. The color, dark grey, is used for an intentional perception of reducing the scale of the house in relation to the building site.
In opposition to the dark and stern outside, in the inside the intention was to create a calm, clear and white space.
A free plan is used without losing the definition of each space and the functionality of the whole. Circulations appear as a block, on the north side, maximizing the south orientation for the main part of the house program.