'no place like 4 houses 4 films' at the venice architecture biennale

‘no place like – 4 houses 4 films’ portugal pavilion at the 12th international architecture exhibition in venice ‘candeias house’ by joão luís carrilho da graça photographer: fernando guerra all images courtesy of the portugal pavilion

as a part of this year’s architecture biennale in venice, portugal is featuring the built works of four contemporary architects as individual fictional films. ‘no place like‘, the unfinished phrase that represents the exhibition in venice, will revolve around specific houses designed by álvaro siza vieira, manuel and francisco aires mateus, joão luís carrilho da graça, and ricardo bak gordon. each project represents four different views and architectural cultures in the ways of thinking and creating architecture. in order to capture the narrative aspect of these works, a prominent portuguese artists was commissioned to cover each project.

‘candeias house’ by joão luís carrilho da graça photographer: fernando guerra

joão luís carrilho da graça ‘candeias house’ évora, portugal completed: 2008 film by julião sarmento

designed for his sister, brother-in-law and their children, joão luís carrilho da graça’s house stands on the outskirts of a small village near évora. while the project fits in with the local typology of the south (discreet white facades to reflect the heat, passive orientation to facilitate air circulation and natural daylighting), the true narrative of the house lies in the careful handling of light, the scenic way the space is unveiled, and the affectivity of its architecture.

‘2 houses in santa isabel’ by ricardo bak gordon photographer: fernando guerra

ricardo bak gordon ‘2 houses in santa isabel’ lisbon, portugal completed: 2010 film by joão onofre

to compensate for the empty inner pockets created during the 1940s and 50s, ‘2 houses in santa isabel’ is a jagged, concrete structure set snugly behind a series of middle-class residential buildings in campo de ourique, lisbon. the project redefines the concept of urban space while generating a space for living where there was none beforehand.

‘2 houses in santa isabel’ by ricardo bak gordon photographer: fernando guerra

‘bouça’ by álvaro siza vieira photographer: fernando guerra

álvaro siza vieira ‘saal-bouça’ porto, portugal completed: 2006 film by filipa césar

the only form of collective housing represented at the exhibition, the project is an especially interesting case study for its two-part construction phase with a three-decade interval in between due to the 1974 revolution in portugal. the ‘bouça project’ encompasses the socio-economic and cultural changes of a neighborhood and how the architecture can correspond with a target population’s ambitions and aims.

‘bouça’ by álvaro siza vieira photographer: fernando guerra

‘houses in comporta’ by manuel and francisco aires mateus photographer: aires mateus

manuel and francisco aires mateus ‘houses in comporta’ grandola, portugal completed: 2010 film by joão salaviza

located on the sand dunes of comporta by the tróia peninsula south of lisbon, the project is a series of four fragmented houses–two wooden, and the other two in stone. the aim of the design was to create individually programmatic, vernacular structures that maintain its presence in the beach landscape

‘houses in comporta’ by manuel and francisco aires mateus photographer: aires mateus

julião sarmento, ‘cromlech’, 2010 38’27” HD monochannel video, PAL (1080i), 16:9, colour, sound variable dimensions 3 + 1 A.P. courtesy of cristina guerra contemporary art, lisbon / sean kelly gallery, new york