Project: House on the Flight of Birds
Architects: Bernardo Rodrigues
Location: Ribeira Grande, Portugal
Photographs by: Iwan Baan
House on the Flight of Birds by Bernardo Rodrigues
Bernardo Rodrigues designed the House on the Flight of Birds on the north side of the Saint Michael Island in Portugal. This single family home is designed to establish a strong connection to the outdoors regardless of the weather conditions. Its contemporary shape is defined by a series of stacked volumes that intersect with each other, linked only by a contoured form.
The house is located in the north side of S. Michael Island in the Azores. Since the microclimate of this farmland offers frequent wind and showers, the first design strategy was to block these winds with a wall, and offer diverse patios and covered courtyards to protect against rain. These patios and courtyards also open all living spaces to the natural green by glass walls, which receded from the exterior.
On the upper-floor, there are private rooms that are more enclosed and protected. The typology follows an almost classical Palladian and Scamozzi central plan design, with double height on living room, and then two lateral wings enclosing one the kitchen.
The house also uses the high chimneys from popular residential architecture, a covered interior patio, and the other wing has the circulations for the first floor and to the roof terrace. These two wings end with light entrances from the south. The roof offers a wonderful view of all of the island’s north shore.
