Monte em Taipa - rahmmed earth house
Reconstruction of a house, in a natural parc, by preserving an existing house with the rahmed earth construction technique.
Project of Helena Simões Architecte: Luisa Barahona collaboratrice
Location: São Téotonio, Parque Natural da Costa Vincentina, Portugal
Date: handover 2008
Phases: Project concept - Construction
Area: 120m²
Cost: 90 000€
Photography construction site
Rammed earth construction:
Rammed earth construction is typical in the Alentejo region, in the south of Portugal. This type of construction was for a long time neglected by its habitants, because it represented the old and poor houses from the older generations.
These last years, the population started taking some interest in this technique and the artisans started passing their knowledge.
This type of material has several advantages, because the earth can be taken from the soil of the terrain. After choosing the appropriate earth, it will be rahmmed into wood form-works and transformed into earth blocks.
These blocks can be interposed with thin stones. The walls will have 80cm thickness, this allows minor heat loss during the winter and fresh air during the summer.
One of the disadvantages of this construction is that each wall will be structural. This way the space is more ridged, since you cannot open doors or windows easily.
Photographies construction site
Photography existing house
Photography new house
The project is located inside a natural parc, in the south of Portugal, approximately 5km from the Atlantic coast. Since the beginning, the urge was to keep a part of the pre-existing house. This way the house was entirely built in rahmmed earth, for a better connection with the pre-existent and the natural environment.
The house was finished in lime paint, the roof has traditional tiles and the ceiling is in Nordic wood. The floor is in artisan floor tiles and parquet, the walls of the kitchen and bathrooms are covered with azulejos (tiles) from the ancient Constança factory. All the windows and doors were manufactured by local artisans, as part of the furniture.
The house should be able to host a big family during the summer vacations. For this reason, the flexibility of the interiors was important. After taking into account the technical needs, the spaces were drawn as flexible and free, as possible. The kitchen is opened to the dining room, the living room has a different ground level, 3 wood steps make the separation.
When we observe the house from the outside, we can imagine that the house was born with the garden, inside we find a shelter to rest and be protected.