“House with three gestures” by fala atelier

With the “House of Three Gestures” in Gondomar, Portugal, the Swiss-Portuguese architecture firm fala atelier has created a house that challenges its banal surroundings with a striking volume.

The semi-circular, single-storey residential building stands on an irregular corner plot in a small suburb near Porto and looks more like a gallery or a chapel.
The clear edges of the semi-circle are parallel to the street side. The interior of the house can also be accessed from the street side. Once inside, the adjoining rooms line up along a stepped floor plan. At the end of this line, the washroom is formed into a tower. The semi-circular living area provides access to the garden.

Inside, the materials are clearly defined. The painted walls blend in between the wooden floor and the exposed concrete ceiling. The main edges are accentuated by dark wooden strips. And the rooms are brightly lit thanks to numerous openings on the street side.

The name of the house refers to the following three movements: curving, tilting and breaking through.
The curvature is due to the enclosing wall that “hugs” the house. An inclination is created by the sloping roof, which has a pink chimney. And the semicircle is interrupted by a window that provides access to the garden. The house is a volume that takes into account and celebrates every surface through ingenious overlaps.

Find out more about another fala project here.

And you can read more about fala in BM 10/17 and BM 03/19.