Villa Rei

The Rei Villa is established accordingly to the reinterpretation of Aveiro’s imagery, such as the stripped coloured houses of Costa Nova, called palheiros, and the houses covered in ceramic tiles in Beira-Mar neighborhood. Thus, we reflect upon the identity of a place, its urban facts, permanence, value and memory (subjective and collective).

The proposal comprises three distinctive volumes, so which of them embodies its hierarchical function and typology. They are established as a sculptural object which creates the shape of the building, gathering different height, rhythm and composition. In the contradiction of fragmentation, it is created an elemental, coherent and structural building.

The spaces are organized along a longitudinal axis, and ruptured by a transversal axis, resulting in simple, graceful and neutral spaces. The main façade suggests the space planning and its relation to the public space (the street). As a result, the first volume refers to private spaces, the second volume refers to common spaces and the third volume refers to technical services resulting in a blind wall, glazing wall and vertical elements at the front façade, respectively. The rear façade is composed by a large window creating the illusion of permeable architecture and a delicate atmosphere to the backyard of the swimming pool and gardens.

The simplicity is imposed by the past legacy, as embodied in the disruptive vertical elements – a resemblance of the striped coloured houses of Costa Nova merged with the remnants of the existing tiles – a replacement of images resulting in a metamorphosis of space and time.