Architects: Vasco Burnay Arquitectura
Area: 250 m² (2691 ft²)
Year: 2024
Photography: Ivo Tavares Studio
Lead Architects: Vasco Burnay
Contractor: Ladislau Construções
Civil & Structural Engineering: Urpendium Engenharia & Construção Lda
Fluids & Thermal Engineering: Urpendium Engenharia & Construção Lda
Landscape: Jardim Digital
Location: Vila Franca de Xira
Country: Portugal
Casa do Alpendre is a 250 m² residence designed by Vasco Burnay Arquitectura in Quinta da Coutada, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, and completed in 2024. Developed from a “blank slate” on an empty plot, the house responds to a fragmented suburban setting defined by varied architectural languages and the nearby presence of an industrial facility. Its L-shaped plan establishes a controlled frontage to the street while shielding domestic life from northern exposure and the industrial complex behind the block. The layout places social areas along the longer wing and private rooms along the shorter wing, forming a protected outdoor core oriented toward sunlight. A continuous south-facing porch extends the living spaces outward, serving as a circulation area, shaded threshold, and climatic protection. The pitched roof geometry creates generous interior volumes and two habitable attic spaces, while the exterior program includes service areas, a swimming pool platform, and parking near the street.
Casa do Alpendre introduces a deliberate form of domestic autonomy within a context where no dominant architectural order is present. Rather than attempting to reconcile the diverse built fabric around it, the project defines its own spatial logic through orientation, section, and enclosure. The house uses its L-shaped geometry to construct a private interior world, one that opens carefully toward sunlight while limiting visual and climatic exposure to less favorable surroundings.
The site is located in Quinta da Coutada, in Vila Franca de Xira, where the surrounding architecture is marked by considerable diversity and a lack of consistent urban language. Nearby industrial structures, with large roofs and façades clad in different types of metal sheeting, further shape the visual character of the area. In response, Vasco Burnay Arquitectura positioned the house to establish a measured street presence without immediately revealing the full scale of the volume behind it.
The L-shaped plan performs both urban and environmental roles. Its longer wing protects the residence from northern exposure and allows the main living spaces to face south, while the overall configuration enables the house to “turn its back” on the industrial complex located to the north. This gesture is not merely defensive; it reorganizes the plot around a sheltered exterior nucleus where privacy, openness, and light become the primary conditions of daily life.
Programmatically, the house is divided with clarity. The longer volume contains the social areas, while the shorter perpendicular wing accommodates the private rooms. The living room and kitchen occupy a continuous open space beneath the generous void of the pitched roof, creating a communal interior without visual barriers. Four bedrooms are arranged along the private wing, each with an en-suite bathroom, while two of them share a walk-in closet. At the intersection of the two volumes, circulation halls, a pantry, a guest bathroom, and the staircase to the main attic organize the transition between the social and private areas.
The porch is one of the project’s defining elements. Extending along the southern elevation of the longer wing, it functions as an inhabitable threshold between the interior and the garden. It provides shade, supports circulation, and extends the domestic program outdoors, allowing the house to engage the exterior without losing its sense of enclosure. As a continuous architectural device, the porch strengthens the relationship between climate, movement, and everyday use.
The pitched roofs contribute to the spatial identity of the residence while also increasing its usable area. In both volumes, the roof geometry allows for habitable attic spaces. In the smaller wing, the attic is accessed from the bedroom at the end of the sequence, where a bespoke timber staircase also serves as a wardrobe and bookshelf. At roof level, a technical terrace accommodates the equipment and infrastructure required for the operation of the house, keeping service functions integrated within the overall composition.
The exterior layout follows the natural slope of the terrain through a ramp that connects the different outdoor levels. Beneath the continuation of the pitched roof of the main volume, the project incorporates a laundry room and an additional bathroom. The swimming pool is placed on an upper platform, while the lower level near the street frontage accommodates a forecourt with parking for three vehicles. Through these layered decisions, Casa do Alpendre transforms an empty plot into a composed residential environment shaped by privacy, solar orientation, and architectural restraint.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
