Architecture Architecture In Viana do Castelo stands Villa Rotonda, a single-family house of curved geometry that opens to the Atlantic while protecting the privacy of those who live in it. A circular, calm and sculptural volume sits at the centre of the site and follows the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset.
The area combines the harmony of a more rural setting with the first signs of modernity brought by the new buildings around it.
The name Villa Rotonda comes from the volume itself, which favours sun orientation and emphasises the sight lines over the sea. The main façade spans more than 180 degrees, so the path of the sun can be followed from every room of the house.
The curved geometry of the main façade avoids the massive impact that a 40-metre straight façade would have on the landscape. The curved lines “disappear” at the vanishing point, along the horizon, and the volume reads as a light, continuous element. Exposed concrete slabs draw two horizontal rings, and the large panes of curved glass and the continuous balcony bring transparency and lightness. The house opens onto the garden, the trees and the sea.
