PK Arquitetos designed Casas no Pinar in Estoril, Portugal, two single-family homes next to a pine forest. Facing south, the Houses in the Pine Forest are built on a natural slope perpendicular to the adjacent road.

The inspiration of architect Francisca Magalhães Ramalho, founder of the studio, lies in exploring the contrasts between privacy and spaciousness, light and shadow, opacity and texture.
The southern façades of the volumes designed by PK Arquitetos have large glass windows overlooking the garden and illuminating the interior, while at the other end of the house blind walls have been installed to provide privacy. Four large skylights also allow light to invade the circulation spaces of the house. The horizontal pergola has the opposite purpose, to create a play of shadows in the garden.

The clear division between the ground floor and the first floor creates a sense of lightness to the whole. The materials used are present throughout the house, both inside and outside, providing continuity and uniformity to the project. These materials are concrete, stone, wood, and metal.


Houses in the pine forest by PK Arquitetos. Photograph by Ivo Tavares Studio.


Houses in the pine forest by PK Arquitetos. Photograph by Ivo Tavares Studio.
 

Description of project by PK Arquitetos

Set of villas located next to a pine forest. The volumes develop perpendicularly to the road, facing south. They land along the natural slope of the land, and the garage, with only one floor, finishes the volumetry. The house basis begins as a wall, then surrounds the main volume and finally, again as a wall embraces the garage, giving a sense of continuity. The first floor swings on the lower floor, detaching from it, giving a sense of lightness to the whole.

Working contrasts were an important part of the concept. The design translates the contrast between privacy and wideness,  light and shadow, and opacity and texture. The blind walls, give privacy to interior spaces, opposing large glazed windows facing south, framed by the garden. Natural light penetrates in a controlled way through the roof, by four large skylights that illuminate the circulation spaces and through the wide windows facing south, overlooking the lawn. The texture of the horizontal pergola, with linear elements, right-angled to the facade, creates a set of shadows. These same linear elements now set vertically,  make the protections of the upper windows. These shutters run along the façade, creating different compositions and shadow effects on the elevation, varying with each different position.

Concrete, stone, wood and metal, are the elements that constitute the materiality of the whole. There is always a continuity of these materials from the inside to the outside,  some strategic points of view reinforce this notion.

More information

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Architects
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PK Arquitetos. Main Architect- Francisca Magalhães Ramalho.
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Collaborators
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ATPI Engenharia.
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Builder
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API Construções.
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Area
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256 sqm
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Dates
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2022.
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Location
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Estoril, Portugal.
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Photography
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PK Arquitetos is an architectural practice based in Estoril, Portugal, founded in 2001 by Francisca Magalhães Ramalho. The studio is dedicated to hospitality, healthcare, equipment, offices, retail, housing, and recovery projects. They also take on the facet of interior decoration and architecture.

Francisca Magalhães Ramalho is its founder, born in Lisbon, Portugal. She studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon from 1979 to 1983.
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Published on: November 23, 2022
Cite: "Exploring contrasts of light and privacy. Houses in the Pine Forest by PK Arquitetos" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/exploring-contrasts-light-and-privacy-houses-pine-forest-pk-arquitetos> ISSN 1139-6415
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