‘house AADD’ by helder de carvalho, marco de canaveses, portugalimage © jose camposall images courtesy of jose campos
in the rural area of vila boa de quires just east of porto, the ‘house AADD’ by portuguese architect helder de carvalho enjoys elevated views of the faraway horizon and green inland scenery. two stacked boxes, a regular white square on a darker inset rectangle creates a dichotomy, offer a visibly public structure with a private mass hidden in its shadows. the entrance takes the user over a series of protruding concrete platforms around a solitary olive tree, an organic touch in front of a rectilinear form. three bedrooms and two living rooms enjoy the company of various qualities of light through the different apertures and terraces that interrupt the continuity of the tiled outer skin. the lower area contains the kitchen, dining, and social gathering area along with the garage, using the overhang of the primary program to provide much needed shade in the summer months. while the superior volume lives in the sun, the inferior volume lives in the absence of direct light, where a series of edges controls and defines the character of illumination. a skylight floods the hidden void between the site and the lower structure with light without overheating, a powerful element in a dark chasm. the interior in contrast is much more integrated with double-height spaces and visually connected rooms between the two levels. a natural stone wall cuts through the floors also joining the elements with a single plane.
image © jose campos
front elevationimage © jose campos
entryimage © jose campos
images © jose campos
image © jose campos
entranceimage © jose campos
view from the entry to the siteimage © jose campos
view from the yardimage © jose campos
lower dining area with stone wall that continues into the upstairsimage © jose campos
living room with double-height stone wall connects the upstairs with the downstairsimage © jose campos
work deskimage © jose campos
simple geometries in natural materials define interior fixturesimage © jose campos
image © jose campos
stairsimage © jose campos
central stairwellimage © jose campos
simple interior details and retractable doors section off different areasimage © jose campos
intermediate corridor with large windowsimage © jose campos
corridor into bedroomimage © jose campos
captionimage © jose campos
dark area between the lower volume and retaining wall lit by the void aboveimage © jose campos
view from under the main volume into the yardimage © jose campos
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level 1
section
elevation
elevation
elevation
elevation
project info:
architecture: galeria gabinete by helder de carvalhoengineering: jasmim reiscollaborators: carla zuzarte, cláudio ferreira, michael ferreira, sérgio azevedo, sidónio de jesuslocation: vila boa de quires – marco de canaveses, portugalbuilt: 2012
Mar 12, 2026
Mar 11, 2026
Feb 24, 2026