The Gerês house situated in a protected natural area and has for conditions a concrete construction and the preservation of all trees in Caniçada, Vieira do Minho Portugal. This house is the first project by Gracia Correia and her new Italian partner, Roberto Ragazzi. It is a bold statement that hides nothing. The owners, Mica and Eduardo Pinto Ferreira, have been Correia’s clients for more than a decade, and gave her carte blanche to create their dream house on the 5,000 square-meter site by the Cevado river – as long as no trees were cut and the 60 square-meter house was made of concrete. The house is located in Peneda-Geras National Park, along the Spanish border in northern Portugal, so the environment and its inviolability were crucial and the rules strict. Inside the simplicity of the structure, the openness of the views and the calm balance of the elements seems to speak the same language as the bleak surroundings. Nature has a way of being beautiful even when it is not, and this house knows that secret.The warmth and proper scale of the building become even clearer when the illuminated house is viewed at night. It may look like it landed from some other planet, but it appears to be right at home now. – Photos by Alberto Placido, Juan Rodrigues & Luis Ferreira Alves.
