House on Theory of Winds
Hokusai's “A Sudden Burst of Wind” inspired the project for this house.
2011
Leiria, Portugal
House on Theory of Winds
Hokusai's “A Sudden Burst of Wind” inspired the project for this house.
2011
Leiria, Portugal
The instant we went onto the property and the client described the winds, Jeff Wall's work based on Hokusai's artwork “A sudden burst of wind” came to mind.
The Portuguese king, D. Afonso III (1248-1279), ordered the vast planting of pine trees, which are today known as the Leiria forests, to prevent the poor soils from being completely eroded by the wind.
Those pines were used to build the ships that took the Portuguese centuries later around the globe reinventing the art of sailing, in theirs hands maps with the four winds represented by faces of angels blowing.
West of Leiria, a tract of land marks the endpoint of a long channelled valley. The tiny wood on-site is buffeted by the north wind.
A water line and two stone reservoirs are located on the site. We use three new ponds to move water down the natural platforms. The wind and light can then whirl around the carved shelter, following the ever-changing sky.