Month: October 2024

This is a rehabilitation work on what was once a barn, located on a family farm, in a small valley in the region of Algarve known as barrocal, in the southern coast of Portugal. An area of orange groves and smooth releave which follows the course of the Arade river, between the heights of the Monchique mountain range, and the flat, low-lying areas of the coast.

The inspiration behind RBhouse came from a desire to create an open, fluid living space while addressing the constraints of a small urban plot. The primary concept revolves around the staggered floor design, where varying floor heights create a seamless visual connection across levels. This promotes a feeling of openness, optimizing natural light and ventilation. Minimalism was a key guiding principle, emphasizing simplicity, functionality, and a cohesive spatial flow.

The sun is an inescapable partner in architecture, influencing lighting, energy efficiency, and comfort inside and outside buildings. This influence has become increasingly relevant in the context of climate change, which has led to rising temperatures and the creation of challenging environments. In response, designers are constantly working to adapt cities to heatwaves through large-scale urban strategies. On a smaller scale, such as in residential settings, the issue can be addressed more specifically through various shading solutions.

Hotel Labaris is divided into 4 zones. Each zone narrates a chapter of a fairytale through a unique conceptual feature of the project, a maze. A maze in each zone has a different design that illustrates a concept of each fairytale chapter and also weaves all chapters together into a whole storyline. The winding mazes also elongate visitors’ experiences in spaces that are actually limited.  An axis goes from the project entrance and cuts through the 4 zones forward to the far back of the project, separating the whole area into 2 symmetrical sides.