Exemplar-Casa Tolo by Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira

The Casa Tolo by portuguese architect Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira. This building located on a steep hill in northern portugual. "instead of fighting the natural environment, the architect embraced it using the slope as the home's main characteristic. the home begins at the top of the hill and slowly reveals itself as you descend down the outdoor staircase. the home was designed as a vacation home for the architect's cousin, wife and children. despite the familiar connection the home was built on a tight budget of 150,000 usd. the various rooms are divided among the levels, each one even has its own patio space. despite the frontal exposure to the hot sun, the residence is cooled by the earth which surrounds it on three sides."


Casa Tolo is designed with the purpose of using as a vacation house for the architects wife, children, and cousins, the Casa Tolo is located on one of the steep hill northern Portugal. Normally, architects use to fight with natural environment, however Siza did in contrast. He embraced it and uses the slope as the buildings main feature. This unique home created by Siza begins at the top of the hill, and slowly show off its beauty as you go down the outdoor staircase. Despite of being the son of a well-known and award winning person, the house has a tight budget of $150,000, no so expensive for an eco friendly building.

                                    

Reference

- 2006-2010 Gadget Magazine, Casa Tolo http://www.likecool.com/Casa_Tolo--Building--Home.html (accessed on March 5)
- 2010 IGreenSpot Casa Tolo Building Embraces Natural Environment http://www.igreenspot.com/casa-tolo-building-embraces-natural-environment/ (accessed on March 5)