Beyond the apparent aesthetics in an architectural project are the processes—the journey through which initial sketches and thought clouds culminate into tangible projects and which are often elusive or hidden during the demonstrative phase of the completed structure. It wouldn’t be too audacious to state that, for architects and design enthusiasts, it is often these procedural details that add a latent and undefinable allure to an architectural project. It is this specific sentiment that also elevates the Portugal-based atelier local’s residential project Casa em Ancede. A fairly simple small-scale project, it demonstrates the results attained when aiming for a sustainable, mindful and collaborative output.

The architectural studio was founded and is led by João Paupério and Maria Rebelo, who were both still working as architects for Baukunst, in Brussels, when they first started receiving commissions. atelier local was, however, formally established only in 2019. Since both Paupério and Rebelo disliked the heroism and stardom that is often created around popular architects, they decided to refrain from naming the studio after themselves. On the contrary, the two architects wanted to emphasise the invisible collective labour behind the design and construction of all architectural projects. “In Portuguese, atelier local stands for the ‘local’ offices which are behind starchitect concepts, such as Koolhaas' Casa da Música, without whom they wouldn’t have developed into full projects and buildings, but who rarely get the credit they deserve. Therefore, it sounded like an appealing name, as it was simultaneously anonymous and ambiguous. It worked for a while and even today a lot of people are not sure who is actually in charge of the studio. We believe this name and the reasons for which we chose it mirror our working ethos,” the Portuguese architecture studio shares.

Casa em Ancede, a contemporary residence that was commissioned in 2018 and that took several years to finish, demanded the architects to shift the gear on their approach, vision, design and methodologies several times. It was initially conceived as a refurbishment project, although the final residential design entailed complete dismantling of the existing structure and rebuilding anew. “The project took a long time to culminate, due to the pandemic, an obstruction of the Suez Canal and several wars, which once again revealed the cyclical nature of capitalism's crisis in a new inflationary spiral,” the studio asserts. Adding to this were the consternations of limited skilled labour in Portugal, which made the original design impossible to build. As a consequence, the design was changed to accommodate the availability of resources. Concrete pillars and beams, ordinary concrete block and water-resistant MDF, all coated with a thin layer of paint or varnish, were used "as found". The stones from the preceding structure were also utilised for constructing retaining walls. All in all, the residential architecture was a collaborative project wherein the structure was built despite various prevailing socio-political issues.

Emulating the idea of working collaboratively, the architects collectively responded as a studio to some of our questions about the process of building Casa em Ancede.

Almas Sadique: Tell us a little more about the context of the site. What are some structures and amenities located in the vicinity of the structure?

atelier local: The house is located in a sort of melancholic and desolated post-rural landscape: partially urbanised, partially abandoned; partially forested, partially devoted to (mostly subsistence) agriculture. Of course, the whole landscape is structured around this important territorial infrastructure which is the Douro River. Previously, the river was used as the privileged route to transport the famous wine produced in the region to the city of Porto. Today, the river is mostly used to transport international tourists coming from Porto, who are eager to visit the beautiful vineyards surrounding it. Along the river, there is also a very beautiful railway line, very close to the water. These two elements are important because the sounds they produce, even though from a distance, still mark the circadian rhythm of the house. They are already an indissociable part of this bucolic landscape.

Almas: How long does the stone ruin that was initially situated on the site of Casa em Ancede, date back to? What kind of structure was it?

atelier local: The ruin that existed on the plot was a rather old, small and poor stone hut, which probably served as a house or shelter for those who cultivated the land. We do not know the precise age of the ruin, since there were no records of its construction, but it was probably more than a century old. Its footprint was merely around 35 square metres. The structure was so small that there was only one room on each floor and the connection between those was made from the outside. The plot in question was previously used for planting vines and olives, but there were also signs of livestock farming. These were reflected in the architecture of the house itself. As was usual in vernacular architecture, the lower floor was used to house the animals, which ended up acting as a sort of underfloor heating for the upper floors. When the current owners bought the land, it had already been abandoned and uncultivated for some time. This and the fact that the house is in ruins are probably somehow related to the transformation of the Portuguese economy, which is nowadays much less agricultural.

Almas: How was the foundation of the structure reinstated? Is the previous foundation retained?

atelier local: Unlike the upper floors, the foundation of the stone hut had been built with smaller stones and was not suitable to hold the new structure of the house. In any case, the house had to be completely dismantled so that it could be slightly extended and, for economic reasons, the new structure could not be made of stone but a rather ordinary concrete structure. The house itself, properly said, was finally built from scratch. Nonetheless, all the stones from the existing house were reused either to build exterior staircases and retaining walls throughout the site, in particular to rebuild the plateaux surrounding the house. In a way, we guess it would be accurate to say that those stones were “retained” as the foundation for the new construction, at least from a landscape perspective. It is for that reason that we always refer to the house as a reconstruction. 

Almas: How could the footprint be extended from 35 to 60 square metres?

atelier local: What happened was that when the clients originally bought the land, there was the prospect of reconstructing and extending the existing stone ruin by up to 300 square metres. Severe wildfires recently affecting Portugal led to the extension of its Natural Ecological Reserve, which meant that their plot became part of it. Among other factors, this altered the possibility of extending the house as they had previously imagined, which made the project particularly difficult within the constraints of the stone ruin and the minimal demands required by the clients. On the field, however, we realised that the house was legally registered as having a larger footprint than it actually had in reality. With some wit, this allowed us to legally extend the house to the slightly larger volume it now has. Just enough so that we could fit the missing infrastructure and an internal staircase.

Almas: Could you elaborate a little on the asymmetrically punctured fenestrations designed for the private residence? We are especially curious about the circular window that revolves.

atelier local: One important thing to clarify about this project is that even though it turned out to be built from scratch, legally we were only allowed to refurbish the stone ruin already existing in the plot. The project was thought of as a refurbishment; as we do, in fact, with any other project. This means that we had to rebuild the house with the same volume/shape it already had. Due to a mismatch between the material reality and the notary's documents, there was, however, the possibility of slightly enlarging the footprint of the house. Therefore, from a conceptual point of view, we decided to “drag” two of its walls to make room for new sanitary facilities and an interior staircase. All this to say that there are three types of fenestrations in this house. The smaller ones, with different sizes and proportions, correspond to the windows that already existed in the ruin and were integrated as found in the new layout. The larger ones correspond to the width created by the “dragging” of those walls. Finally, there is a third type of window: a square and three circles that have been added to the composition of the façades. These simple geometric shapes interest us because they are self-described, that is, their proportions are already predetermined. So we could keep decisions to a minimum, in a composition that was per se quite complex. All we had to decide was their size and position on the façade. On the other hand, because these windows are neither vertical nor horizontal, they do not impose a preferred way of looking outside. Onto a landscape which is both vertical and horizontal, if we consider both the river Douro and the mountains surrounding it. As far as colour is concerned, red is a colour we particularly appreciate, but it also happened to be the colour of the existing wooden frames. Blue, green, red... Strong colours are not uncommon in the windows of Portuguese vernacular architecture.

Almas: Could you enlist the different spaces (across the different floors) in Casa em Ancede? Is it a getaway home for the clients?

atelier local: Casa em Ancede is, indeed, a getaway home for the family who own it and lives in Porto for most of the year. It is meant to be a small house but to receive as many guests as possible both family and friends alike. For this reason, the house was designed to be as informal as possible. There are a series of rooms, more or less connected and designed to address not matters of functionality, but rather different spatial qualities. “Species of spaces [and other pieces]” (Georges Perec) one might say. Connected only by the floating staircase, they operate as layers of privacy. They propitiate different forms of intimacy and sociability. Bathrooms are understandably enclosed, except they are frankly open onto the exterior. Otherwise, you might sleep, play or work in all the other spaces. There are brighter and darker rooms, rooms with high and low ceilings and rooms with ever-changing views over the landscape. In the end, it is up to the inhabitants to decide how they want to use them. For our part, we like to consider them useless spaces. Regarding their character, we tend to think of them as either private spaces, shared spaces or utility spaces (bathrooms, infrastructural closets, etc.). Of course, even this might fortunately be subverted through imaginative uses.

Almas: Can one enter the structure through openings on many different levels, or is there only one entrance/exit?

atelier local: Yes, every floor has direct access to the exterior, so there is not one single entrance.

Almas: The press release mentions a delay in the project due to 'an obstruction of the Suez Canal'. Could you elaborate on that?

atelier local: In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by a container ship that got stuck in it. During an unprecedented pandemic, this was only one of many events which affected global logistics and the distribution chain of commercial goods, including, of course, construction materials. It affected prices and delivery deadlines, which delayed construction and eventually forced us to make choices over this or that.  

Almas: How is the drainage system designed to cater to water incoming from rainfall, as well as the internal plumbing? Where is water sourced from?

atelier local: Even though its location is somewhat remote, the house is connected to public infrastructure networks. It is not one of those off-the-grid “ships”, even if there is an existing water mine used for irrigation. Nonetheless, the house sits on a plot very close to the river. It is a direct part of its hydrographic basin, so it is very important to waterproof its soil as least as possible, in order not to affect the ecology of the river. Therefore, we made sure rainwater is dumped directly onto the land so that it can infiltrate and naturally continue its “life” cycle.