Discovery of intimacy – Portugal

Upon entering the plot the House in Meco reveals itself as a perfect square with four similar facades. The single storey home is composed of a large roof supported in its four corners that correspond to the private spaces of the home, with the common areas of the house opening to the landscape.
Designed by Atelier RUA, the building has a centralised plan, being the living room the space from where all other spaces derive. The entrance on the north façade articulates directly with this space, which subsequently opens to the exterior through large windows facing East, South and West. The bedroom clusters are located at the four corners of the 21m square footprint of the house. Each bedroom clusters holds the entrance/dressing area, bathroom facilities and a bedroom. Between them, towards East, South and West, three terraces emerge as a transition between the garden and the large central living space.
The diagonal progression through the house allows the discovery of different levels of intimacy. From the outside, one can wonder through the semi-private terrace into the bedroom. From here, space contracts in the bedroom that mediates the transition to the large living room space, that opens to the landscape. From here, the sequence inverts until one reaches the opposite corner of the house.