Project
Mafra House
Category
Best Implemented Project of Private Residence
About the project
The Mafra House is located by the National Palace of Mafra, better known for its convent of Franciscan friars.
The central idea was to take advantage of the ruined pre-existing façade; a façade which, when recovered, visually highlighted the new house. The goal was to find an equilibrium, given the diversity of the houses in the surrounding area and the proximity to the national monument.
Built from scratch, the Mafra House appears recessed inside the plot and detached from the ruined façade. The house is a single volume, totally in white colour and robust with a gable roof and three patios, one patio per elevation that softens the solid house appearance by introducing rhythms to the construction through the visible recesses in the elevation planes which allowed the opening of sheltered windows from the outside.
The whole plot was lowered at the back, allowing the design of a semi-underground floor with a garage and the introduction of windows open over its access ramp.
Location
Mafra, Lisbon, Portugal
Project implementation year
2020
Applicant and authors of the project
João Tiago Aguiar, born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1973. Architecture Degree by Faculdade Arquitectura Universidade Técnica Lisboa in 1996. Collaboration with van Sambeek & van Veen, Amsterdam, Holland, between years 1997 and 2000 and with Broadway Malyan, Portugal, from 2000 until 2004. In 2004 establishes Acarquitectos office in partnership. In 2008, proceeds individually under the name João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos. The office is located in the city centre of Lisbon.
Project´s team: Rúben Mateus, Susana Luis, João Nery Morais, Maria Sousa Otto, Arianna Camozzi, Samanta Cardoso de Menezes, Diogo Romão, Constança Lino, Francisco Duarte, Renata Vieira.
Other participants
Builder: PMJ
Photograph credits: FG+SG — Architectural Photography