House SM stands in Ílhavo as a 380-square-meter residence completed in 2024 under the direction of architect Mário Alves. The project addresses two clear premises: reconcile the requested domestic program with the specific conditions of the site, and anticipate the area’s imminent transformation. Although the plot currently lacks peripheral construction, future development will alter its context. The house responds to this transitional moment with a controlled, inward-oriented strategy.
HOUSING
The client required the entire program to unfold on a single floor. This constraint shaped the spatial organization and elevated the role of the surrounding green space. Instead of treating the exterior as residual land, the design integrates it directly into the programmatic composition. The garden becomes an active extension of the house, structuring circulation, privacy, and light.
The proposal organizes the residence into two distinct volumes. Each volume reflects its internal function and assumes a specific position on the site. Their placement follows solar orientation, ensuring that living spaces receive optimal exposure while maintaining measured interaction with the surroundings. As the plan extends deeper into the plot, spaces gain privacy. This gradient from open to reserved establishes a clear hierarchy within the domestic layout.
The dialogue between built form and open space defines the project’s spatial logic. Openings frame controlled views and regulate daylight, strengthening the connection between interior and exterior. Rather than relying on expansive glazing alone, the design calibrates apertures to manage light quality and privacy. These gestures extend interior living areas outward, allowing daily life to expand into the garden while retaining a sense of enclosure.
Material choices and formal expression draw from the architectural language typical of the region. The volumes carry a restrained presence that aligns with local building traditions. Their proportions and surface treatments root the house in its geographic context while maintaining a contemporary clarity. This balance ensures continuity with the area’s identity as new constructions emerge around it.
House SM articulates a response to site, climate, and program through controlled geometry and spatial sequencing. By structuring the home as two carefully positioned volumes embedded within green space, Mário Alves Arquitetura establishes a residence that anticipates its changing context while preserving intimacy and clarity at ground level.
