Pedrógão | House Antonio

On the 17th of June 2017, a major wildfire broke out in Pedrógão Grande, and spread through the forest to Figueiró dos Vinhos, Castanheira de Pêra, Sertã, Penela, Góis e Pampilhosa da Serra, affecting 500 houses (259 of which were primary residences). 64 people died trying to escape the fires.

Following the tragedy, citizens and institutions made donations to help the reconstruction of the houses and lives affected by the fires. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, responsible for one of the largest funds, contracted a Cooperativa Trabalhar com os 99% crl. (Working with the 99%, Coop), to provide technical assistance in the process of reconstruction, in which Ateliermob produced the project of seven houses.

The preservation of the walls was an important principle in the process, seeing as they were a part of the memory of the existing destroyed houses, revealing the material with the most resilience to face the fire and an element that embodies the image of houses in this area of Portugal

The existing layout and volume were maintained, as well as the stone masonry walls, modifying only what was necessary to accommodate the new infrastructures and functional programme.

The main entrance to the site, defined to the North, is marked by an exterior covered access that has a relationship to the house and the covered exterior place where the old wood oven had been retrieved, maintaining a direct communication between the spaces.

The reconstruction of the single-family residency of two flows, positioned on the perimeter of the existing construction, respects the original disposition with a centralised programme on the upper level and with designated storage space on the lower floor. The spatial organisation in the interior of the house is marked by the main entrance of immediate access to the living room and continues to the kitchen. The fireplace is the central element in the social space of the house. Maintaining the original openings for storage, and an opening is created to the southeast, allowing natural light to enter the common space, in direct connection to the exterior space.