25 Oct 2024
The principals of HW Studio had heard a lot about the Paula Rego Museum, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura, and had the opportunity to visit it a few years ago. Upon entering the museum, they were immediately moved. Beneath one of the pyramids, they were enveloped by a sense of awe and indescribable serenity.
Light filtered gently through a high skylight, cascading like golden rays on the museum’s surfaces. It felt as if every corner of the building was bathed in a soft, velvety, warm light that touched everything and brought it to life. The way the light descended from those ceilings was soothing, creating shadows and reflections that danced all over the walls and floors. The visitors immediately felt embraced and protected.
In this fascinating world of architecture, several encounters can move our inner selves; light and space become elements that awaken emotions and create transformative experiences. It is in this context that HW Studio presents its project, Casa Emma.
In this project, the firm sought to convey such sense of serenity and calm through light. They carefully explored how to capture the downward light, creating an immersive experience that aims to touch those who enter the house, just as they were touched.
However, unlike Eduardo's museum, they perceive Casa Emma as an excavation exercise as they carve out a void in the shape of a Purepecha granary, called Troje, for which Emma felt a special fondness and attachment. For this reason, the interior is made entirely of wood, aiming to accentuate this concept and make it more evocative of those traditional constructions, with a sense of respect and continuity, while still conveying the same feeling of serenity and calm through light that the architects experienced that day.
Being located on a small plot of 4.00 meters x 10.00 meters in depth, it was necessary not only to resolve lighting and ventilation in a zenithal way but also to be very efficient with the use of space.
An access corridor was placed at the front to allow entry while concealing the roof, which is revealed further on. In the centre, an open-plan space houses the living room, dining room, and kitchen with no space-draining divisions between them. At the back, the refrigerator is concealed, and the utility and storage room is located, along with the vertical circulation, or stairs, that lead the occupant to a small vestibule. In turn, that path leads to the full bathroom and the bedroom on the mezzanine level. That space is significant in terms of design, as it is the only element with a different materiality: a white volume that floats within the house. The choice of changing material aims to blur its presence or make it appear lighter as if it were a piece of cotton floating in space. To reach this effect, light needed to diffuse its boundaries through reflection.
The firm's intention with this project is to provide visitors with an experience that awakens emotions and invites contemplation, attempting to convey the same experience that they experienced that day in Cascais. The house is an invitation to immerse in a world where light becomes the language of emotions and connection with oneself; a space that pays homage to the beauty of light and to Emma, who now welcomes us from heaven.
Technical sheet
Photo credits:
Pictures: Cesar Bejar
Video: Mavix. Hugo Tirso Dominguez
Principale materials:
Structure: Concrete walls, Brick masonry walls, flat and sloped reinforced concrete slabs, and floors and foundations made of concrete.
Exterior Finish: Fine plastering with chukum (a natural coating made from the resin of the chukum tree, mixed with water and stone powder, originating from Yucatan, Mexico).
Interior Finish: Chukum plastering in the entry hallway and bathroom, with the rest of the house covered in engineered wood.
Brands in the project:
Krion: Solid surface I 1100 Snow White.
Bastet luxury floors: Engineered oak wood I CHAMOX. Interceramic: Porcelain floor tile I Lims® Ivory 75x150,
Vanity I Atenas, Kitchen faucet I Matte white Pivot®, Bathroom faucet I Polished chrome Siena.
Bticino: Plates and switches I Living Now.
iLumiled: Floor luminaire I ILUEP1WWW, LED strip I 2216 2200 K. Tecnolite: Digital timer I TT-158
Steren: Video doorbell I CCTV-0990.
ERA: Electric grill I ERA PEI-4-60 black 110V.
Calorex: Electric water heater I PRO 40.
Altamira: Hydraulic pressure booster kit I PRES10, PRES-16-1115-230. Tornado: Submersible water pump I KIN58-8/1230A.