House surrounded by a dense mesh of trees

This contemporary residence looks like an artificial oasis in the middle of nature. It’s called the U House and it’s located in Ericeira, Portugal. The house occupies a surface of 300.0 square meters on a site that measures 5,000 square meters. It was designed by Jorge Graca Costa in collaboration with Rui Rodrigues and Rafaella Gradvohl.Ericeira is a World Surfing Reserve and it’s the place where three times national Surf champion José Gregório wanted to build his new home. He lives here with his wife and two daughters.

U house project6

The house sits on top of a hill and provides panoramic views of the Saint Lorenzo Bay. The client and the architects agreed that the best approach would be to design a sustainable home. However, they also decided to adopt a modern look. In order to achieve that goal, the plan was to rather use raw materials instead of having a superfluous of green technologies.

U house project6
U house project6
U house project6
U house project6
U house project6
U house project6

The residence was organized into three volumes. In the middle there’s a patio that sits on a plateau and has two long arms on its sides that are interconnected by a third body. The orientation and design of each structure was dictated by the views. The architects used eco-friendly interior finishes and decorated the house with artwork made from recycled material, in an effort to emphasize the sustainability of the whole structure. They also includes in the design floor and water heating by solar panels supported by biomass heating, microclimate environment created by the patio and the pool and rainwater harvesting.{found on archdaily}.