Conveying Serenity and Calm through Light

HW Studio unveiled Casa Emma, inspired by the Paula Rego Museum, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura. Light filtered gently through a high skylight, cascading like golden rays on the museum’s surfaces. It felt as if every corner of the building was bathed in soft, velvety, warm light that touched everything and brought it to life. The way the light descended from those ceilings was soothing, creating shadows and reflections that danced all over the walls and floors. The visitors immediately felt embraced and protected.

Livingroom, diningroom, kitchen
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Detail
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Bridge view
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

In this project, the firm sought to convey such sense of serenity and calm through light. They carefully explored how to capture the downward light, creating an immersive experience that aims to touch those who enter the house, just as they themselves were touched. They perceive Casa Emma as an excavation exercise as they carve out a void in the shape of a Purépecha granary, called Troje, for which Emma felt a special fondness and attachment. For this reason, the interior is made entirely of wood, aiming to accentuate this concept and make it more evocative of those traditional constructions, with a sense of respect and continuity, while still conveying the same feeling of serenity and calm through light that the architects experienced that day.

Diningroom
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Facade
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Livingroom
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Being located on a small plot of 4.00 meters x 10.00 meters in depth, it was necessary not only to resolve lighting and ventilation in a zenithal way, but also to be very efficient with the use of space. An access corridor was placed at the front to allow entry while concealing the roof, which is revealed further on. In the center, an open-plan space houses the living room, dining room, and kitchen with no space-draining divisions between them. At the back, the refrigerator is concealed, and the utility and storage room is located, along with the vertical circulation, or stairs, that lead the occupant to a small vestibule. In turn, that path leads to the full bathroom and the bedroom on the mezzanine level. That space is significant in terms of design, as it is the only element with a different materiality: a white volume that floats within the house. The choice of changing material aims to blur its presence or make it appear lighter, as if it were a piece of cotton floating in space. To reach this effect, it was essential that light diffuse its boundaries through reflection.

Ceiling View
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Stairs
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

Kitchen
Photo credit: Cesar Bejar

The firm's intention with this project is to provide visitors with an experience that awakens emotions and invites contemplation, attempting to convey the same experience that they themselves experienced that day in Cascáis. The house is an invitation to immerse in a world where light becomes the language of emotions and connection with oneself; a space that pays homage to the beauty of light.

HW Studio

HW Studio is an architecture studio that emerged in a time of great violence in Mexico, with the purpose of creating spaces that evoke and promote threatened peace. The firm's design process focuses on the deep study and understanding of what they call the three universes: the universe of the future inhabitant, the universe of the place, and our own inner universe as designers. This proposal seeks to move away from arbitrary and egocentric decisions to foster appreciation for what is truly important in life, eliminating the superfluous in architecture to achieve moments of inner peace through conscious contemplation.