Casa do Dragão building

Maputo [Lourenço Marques], Maputo, Mozambique

Housing

The building "Casa do Dragão," from 1951, belongs to the family of the fifteenth book of “Vitruvius Mozambicanus: The Twenty-Five Architectures of Excellent, bizarre and extraordinary Amancio Guedes” (1985), "Shelves and habitable boxes for many people" referenced to the paradigmatic works of the Modern Movement.

Amâncio d'Alpoim Miranda Guedes (1925-2015) draws, to friend family, a residential 4 floors building located between Armando Tivane and Eduardo Mondlane avenues, parallel to the first one, according to a rectangular plan of approximately 35 meters length by 12 meters wide, in a total construction area of 420m2. Lifted from the ground on pilotis, the uneven exterior covered area functions as a community living space in direct relationship with the city. The entrance hall, through which the access to the main staircase is done, is also elevated three steps from the ground; the remaining area was used as parking space. On the ground floor a mural with 15 meters long designs a dragon in black and white stone cubes.  

The vertical circulation is organized in a hierarchical system. Besides the main staircase, there are two service stairs, located on the back facade, giving access to the roof top.

On the 4 floors the apartments are placed symmetrically to the two cores of stairs. The apartments have two bedrooms similar to Prometheus collective housing building (1951-1953), also designed by Pancho Guedes, in which the building's internal organization is simple and functional.

The answer to the ventilation needs and sun protection lead Pancho Guedes to define a set of shading systems that contribute to the building identity.

The main facade is characterized by a sequence of a grid geometrized composed of concrete elements, and the protruding balconies, drawn by a curved surface. On the back facade, the volume is closed through two types of grids: one concrete square grid and another formed by horizontal lampshades in concrete.

Nowadays, the "Casa do Dragão" building presents obvious signs of degradation, in which the main changes are systems against intrusion, especially on the ground floor where fences were installed. Commercial areas were added on the ground floor and in the back facade, also the coverage has changed. Nevertheless, it preserves the essential characteristics of the initial project.

Ana Tostões, Daniela Arnaut

(Referência FCT: PTDC/AUR-AQI/103229/2008)