Casa do Cristo Trofa, Portugal

Casa do Cristo is an economic house designed by Jose Carlos Nunes de Oliveira and Paulo Costa Architects for a young couple which provided for a living area, kitchen, two bedrooms and a studio, served by a common bathroom and the master bedroom, for the couple. The garage and storage space were to be located in the basement.

The land is of modest dimensions (526 m2). When studying the program and possibilities of the plot, it became clear that part of the plot had to be left free, to be able to expand the house. So the house can grow in volume, and the additions still fit in the interior dimensions of the lot. The gradual form of the volume is the immediate expression of the interior space organization of the house.

The context of the surroundings is characterized by the narrow and winding road tracings, and the small spots for construction, the presence of great tree masses and many agricultural parcels. The northern and the western faces of the site are involved by these agricultural fields. The site is further flanked by two public ways to its eastern and southern ends.

Further the architects recognized the need to release land for expansion of the house to the exterior, submitting the house to a minimum of occupation of the plot and to the mandatory distance of 7 meters to the axis of the road. The shape of the small plot thus largely conditioned the profile and formal composition of the designed building.


The house is backed against the extreme northern end of the plot, closing it against the precarious urbanity of its surroundings. The maximum height allowed by the municipal plan i.e. 4 meters was explored.

Project Name: Casa do Cristo
Client: Cristovão Campos
Project Type: Residential
Principal Designers: José Carlos Nunes de Oliveira, Paulo Costa

Design Team: Atsushi Ueno, Jorge Vieira, Rui Cardoso
Year of commencement of project: 2001
Year of completion of project: 2006
Location of site: Trofa, Portugal
Contractors: Salvador, CarpiCruz - Carpintaria, 3M Carpintaria, J. M. Almeida & Sousa LDA, Amandino Ferreira & Filho
Site Area: 477.18m2
Built-up Area: 1374.9m2