Architecture Shows a Portal Frame of Mind

As I navigate through the thousands of photographs on , I tend to detect certain formal trends. One in the modernist vein is what I’m calling portals. These are exterior elements — walls, floors, roofs — which stretch past the exterior wall to create profound frames. The reasons for this saying are diverse, but they come down to a couple aims: framing a particular perspective, providing shade and cover or making a statement.

QUADRANTE Arquitectura

This portal site for this villa in Portugal serves as a patio in front of a louvered glass wall. The superminimal saying of the whole design means the portal reads as a dark rectangle among the white walls.

PAUL CREMOUX studio

This beach house in Mexico uses a portal site on the upper floor; the cantilevered volume produces a covered terrace under it.

PAUL CREMOUX studio

The notch that is cut to the side wall generates a panoramic view from the interior, rather than a more directional view that would arise from wholly solid walls.

Make Architecture

Here is a portal site that is inserted into an existing house as a portion of its redesign. The central place and its materials make it stand out.

Make Architecture

Up close we can observe that it serves the dining area. A sliding glass wall nicely extends this space to the exterior.

Make Architecture

From indoors, looking vertical to the portal, the timber walls seem to cut most of the way throughout the house, notched for passage and perspectives. The substance stands out indoors as well as outside, marking a significant area in the house.

DuChateau Floors

This example comprises two portals vertical to each other: a big, one small, every facing the pool.

DuChateau Floors

The little portal serves as the bedroom and can be perfectly matched with the water. The sides are solid, and the opening is totally transparent — a sliding glass wall bisected at the center.

DuChateau Floors

The huge portal (the length is big enough to require an extra column) serves the living area. A sliding glass wall unites the indoors and the patio overlooking the pool. 1 side comprising a fireplace is cut,.

DuChateau Floors

This shot shows the greatest appeal of eyeglasses in general: exterior spaces which are embracing, shaded and elastic. It’s simple to observe the patio utilized for dining and other uses.

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