House in Leiria, Portugal by Manuel Aires Mateus

The architect Manuel Aires Mateus has finished this house in Leiria, Portugal with unique and creative design of architecture. By exploring not too large space for the building, the architect explored the underground floor more creatively. However, the smart arrangement of the architecture makes the castle at the center of the city gets much natural light.

The idea of the architecture is making a three height void horizontally from the roof to the lower ground floor so that it can collect more natural lights for the whole parts of the house. The private area of the house such as bedrooms and children play room is situated under the plot. The private area has a private patio in the middle. Meanwhile, the social area such as living room and dining room are situated on the upper level.

The architecture design of the Leiria Castle enables much natural light entering the interior through the void. Besides, the courtyards surrounded by private areas also get much natural light from the void to the level garden. Located on the high area with the view of the city and Leiria outskirt, the castle looks so special with the unique architecture design.

he functions are banal: a house divided in private area with bedrooms, and social area with living-rooms. The private areas are at street level under the plot, around a central courtyard with rooms opening to private patios in a intimate environment. The living rooms are around a void, that collects light from above and gazes the castle at the city centre.

The house is a recognizable archetype emptied of its centre by the light designed by a three heighted courtyard that opens horizontally at the garden level. The bedroom courtyards, revealed in the garden, relate with this archetypal object providing different readings on its scale. Scale and volume are controlled in a chaotic context, with a clear identity that from its core relates with the historical legacy far away: the Leiria Castle.