spaceworkers designs a 'house for books' in rural portugal

when spaceworkers took on a commission to design a private residence in rural portugal, their client approached them with one simple challenge: to design a space for books. after fleeting notions of classical libraries with sliding stairs to reach high bookshelves, the team followed this idea to create a tall volume capable of generating the necessary composition and hierarchy of interior spaces.

image © FG+SG – fernando guerra

designing from the inside out, spaceworkers began by differentiating the interior spaces according to function. with some rooms soaring to double-height ceilings or clever voids of light, the design led to an uneven roof plane that protrudes and recesses. in this way, the architect considered the roof as a fifth façade, which influenced the idealization of the remaining elevations.

image © FG+SG – fernando guerra

the roof is expressed as a dense and monolithic cover. evoking the idea of a cave, the heavy roof reminds residents of their own scale as humans and the ancestral importance of shelter. in balance, the lower first floor volume is formed in timber and glass, making the stone above appear almost to levitate. once inside, residents are bathed in natural light and airy spaces, providing a total contrast to the heavy stone of the external upper mass.

image © FG+SG – fernando guerra

time has also been an important factor when designing the house as spaceworkers has considered how the materials will age. as the years pass the textured concrete will naturally age and become more integrated into the rural surroundings. the same will happen to the timber base, which the older it gets the more magnificence it will become, enriching the house.

image © FG+SG – fernando guerra

first floor plan

second floor plan

section

project info:

project name: agrela house

location: portugal

architect: spaceworkers

principal architects: henrique marques, rui dinis

project team: marco santos, marta silva, mónica pacheco, tiago maciel

furniture design: bairro design

finance director: carla duarte – cfo

engineer: simetria vertical

area: 3928.83 ft2 (365 m2)

year: 2018

photography: FG+SG – fernando guerra

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom