Living Up That Hill

The "Tolo House" is a holiday home with three bedrooms, a social bathroom, a living room, a dinning room, a small kitchen with a support washbasin, pantry, and even a small outdoor swimming pool.


Built by Alvaro Leite Siza in Lugar das Carvalhinhas, Portugal on a sharply inclined hill, this house, with its many cubic concrete blocks, looks more like a wet dream for stair-enthusiasts than a relaxing holiday home.


I love the bold blockiness and the very cool angles of the whole thing. The multiple terraces are great and the entrance is fantastic.


But I also sense a slightly bleak and oppressive atmosphere. This has nothing to do with the harsh look of the enforced concrete, though. It´s more the relatively small rooms and the half-buried character of the ascending blocks.


There is 180 m2 of living space and inhabitants of the Tolo house will certainly be recognized by their over-sized thighs.