Casa Tóló, Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira - Portugal

(Picture: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008408.html)

::: The architect behind Casa Tóló, Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira, has created a different kind of home for his cousin in Portugal. Even though the site is just a steep slope and the budget was tight Vieira manages to design a house that turns out to be an award-winning piece of architecture. There is a primarily connection between culture, climate and landscape in Casa Tóló that makes this house so appropriate in its place (The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006).


(Picture: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008408.html)
I like that even though the house is made out of concrete it doesn’t put it self too much out in its environment, but follows the contours of the landscape. From above all you can see is the roof of the first room, this is where you park your car and also where you enter the building (Pearson, C.A., 2006). As you walk down staircase after staircase you discover more rooms to explore.


(Picture: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008408.html)
The architect has made a “game” of this house, playing with the light inside the building and the stairs that lead you from one room to another. No room in this house is on the same level, and the stairs between the rooms acts like corridors (Pearson, C.A., 2006). In a way, it seems like to me, that each room in the house is almost like a little house itself, because of this each room has a unique sense of privacy. Vieira has also made sure that the indoor and outdoor spaces connects. It must certainly be a delightful experience to enjoy the veranda on the roof of the room below.

It’s interesting to see how such a hard task can be solved in such a simple way; concrete “boxes” placed down the slope connected by stairs, where each “box” is a container for different human activities. :::


Reference List:

Pearson, C.A. (2006) In northern Portugal, Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira cascades CASA TOLO down a steep slope through terraced gardens. Retrieved February 2, 2010, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=5&sid=726c398e-16c8-4d5d-9ba5-f6384ecc867e%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=20648476

The McGraw-Hill Companies. (2006). Record Houses 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=8&sid=2a920c82-4547-4c91-82cf-ba029a3854cc%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=20648469