The Curved White House in Portugal by Frari Studio

Designed by Frari studio of architect Maria Fradinho, this house faces the bustling National Road EN109. To ensure its residential functionality, it is designed as a coherent body that shields from the traffic flow by virtue of its form and composition.

House 109 stands out in its perpendicular configuration to the roadway, which sets it apart from its contemporaries. As a result, the front facade of House 109 is shielded and surrounded by lush vegetation as insulation against noise and environmental pollution created by nearby traffic arteries. Not only does this provide an extra layer of protection for the house, but also offers residents the utmost privacy when necessary.

Celebratory rays of sunlight pour through the east-to-west windows to caress the south face of this building, which is angled perpendicular to a restricting road. This ingeniously designed horizontal architecture allows for an external space parallel to its main façade: A wide open field providing lush green leisure and recreation areas. Entering from the north side discreetly, one can marvel at how it all came together in perfect harmony!

Forgetting about other spaces that can never offer as much natural light, people are bringing every room outdoors. This curved design not only provides the veranda with ample coverage from gusts of wind but also expands how far one can venture beyond the house’s axis.

Every room offers an exquisite vista of the exterior, visible either from a porch on the first floor or a shared balcony at the top. These attributes grant uniformity to the façade and allow for extension beyond its boundaries while maintaining homogeneity in design.

This horizontal facade, as the plan outlines, allows for the top of the house to stand out with distinction. The ground limits are composed of corten-colored walls that retreat from its white upper body and blend between structural balance and materiality – coming together to make a spacious volume more vivid. Large windows enhance this effect even further!

This basic yet sturdy design seeks to act as a response to modifications in areas adjacent to national roads, solving the issue of not being able to gain from external spaces and dictating the necessary rule that would make these roads more livable.

Below you can see a few images shot by Ivo Tavares.