Ritzwell warms up a brutalist house in Portugal

This brutal, geometric house in Portugal by Serôdio Furtado Arquitectos was designed as a protective platform for living, immersed in lush nature and coastal views. The house’s furniture needed to bring warmth, comfort and domesticity – as well as a powerful presence worthy of the modernist style inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s Butantã House.

Ritzwell’s designs – which combine natural materials, Japanese elegance and European modern forms – rose to the challenge. 'They express the idea of comfort in a very strong way,' says architect João Pedro Serôdio. Take the Diana one-seater sofa, made of soft, natural-hued cloth, leather and smooth walnut, which curves to encompass the body: 'It has a timeless character independent from the house, yet it fits the ambience,' says Serôdio.

They were able to successfully punctuate the expansive open-plan living spaces of exposed concrete and marble. For example, the Jabara sideboard with its sliding tambour door and thick leather panels has a strong form for dividing space, yet also provides an organic nature.

The ability of Ritzwell’s furniture to harmonise between architecture and life was central to the concept: 'The house is the sum of two parts, the protection and the life – and the total is somehow immaterial,' says Serôdio.

Architecture and Design: João Pedro Serôdio / Studio Serôdio, Furtado & Associados
Photos © Marta Maria Ferreira / Luís Ferreira Alves

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