This house on S. Michael Island in the Azores by Portuguese architect Bernardo Rodrigues comprises a jumble of curved and rectilinear volumes, creating little sheltered patios in-between them.
A large red square wall screens the house from the strong winds of the North Atlantic ocean.
An undulating roof terrace is sheltered behind this screen.
The ground floor spaces are open-plan and enclosed bedrooms are located on the first floor.
Photography is by Iwan Baan.
Here is a little bit of text from the architect:
House on the flight of birds.
The house is located in the north side of S. Michael Island in the Azores.
The microclimate of this farmland offers frequent wind and showers so the first design strategy was to block with a wall those winds, offer diverse patios and covered courtyards on the ground floor protected from rain and open all living space to the natural green around by glass walls receded from the exterior.
On the upper-floor there’s the private rooms more enclosed and protected.
The typology follows almost classical Palladian and scamozzi central plan design with double height on living room and then two lateral wings enclosing one the kitchen, also quotes the high chimneys from popular residential architecture and a covered interior patio, and the other wing has the circulations for the first floor and to the roof terrace.
These two wings end in light entrances from the south. The roof offers possibilities of flight of views over all the island north shore.
