What’s in a place?

Villa Serena house is a family project that brings different things together: a comfortable space for our family, friends and visitors; a place to relax by the seaside and an easy gateway to Porto and the many beautiful and interesting places in the north and center of Portugal. But, above all, a place that grows on you and feels like home.

Located in a quiet neighbourhood in the small fishing community of Aguda, a laid-back place which has been a beach-going spot for several decades, the house is just steps away from the beach and the main street, with all the necessary services.

Villa Serena is available for rentals, either as standalone rooms or as an independent holiday house. It is fully equipped for longer stays, with a particular focus on families. For more details, pricing and availability, please check here. To read more about the history of the house and the renovation process, please continue reading below.

This family project started even before the house was discovered and acquired by us. We wanted to create a space with a relaxed vibe and a good mix of private and common areas, while helping visitors to connect to the local people, nature and culture – all in their own rhythm. Given our strong concern for environmental and social aspects, we also wanted to rebuild and – later on – run the house in a certain way, combining a permanent residence with a micro-tourism unit in a responsible way.

Sustainability in practice

We see sustainability as an holistic approach, not just a set of independent measures. For us, it was important to integrate several social and environmental aspects in different phases and aspects of this project. Here's what we did and will be doing still:

• For the choice of location, mobility and social integration were important aspects:
  • We looked for a place where a vehicle is not a must have. The necessary everyday services should be within walking distance and with an easy access to town - Porto & Gaia - with public transportation.
  • A house can be part of a broader community. For us, this meant finding a place where people still greet each other on the street and where you have the opportunity to meet and interact with others, in a diverse environment.
  • It also means that our house and neighbourhood are not just a transit point for tourists. It's a place which is alive and dynamic, as it becomes clear once you arrive, and we were careful to maintain that identity.
• Heritage:
  • Places have a character, influenced by building choices. The renovation work focused on preserving an existing façade and style, keeping the fit with the street, and the way how the garden and inside of the house were connected, while raising the comfort and efficiency level dramatically.
  • For the decoration, we resorted to local techniques and artisans for executing different furnishing and decoration pieces, or the hand-painted tiles for some walls.
• Renovation and layout:
  • To reduce building waste, we chose to keep the original core of the house, made of 40cm thick granite blocks, rather than rebuilding it all. The new layout also aimed to reduce the amount of new material required and ensure a longer lifetime for the house and easier repairability, for a smaller overall footprint.
  • We were able to restore and reuse several elements from the previous "incarnation" of the house, including decoration pieces now on display.
  • Importantly for us, we were able to replant most of the original garden plants, which were kept in a nursery for over two years until they could come back home.
• Selection of materials:
  • In addition to using less, we also wanted to use more sustainable materials, and keep these as simple as possible. This was not the normal path and it involved a long selection of suppliers and adjustments with the construction and planning teams, as this level of detail was unusual to them.
  • Amongst many other details, all the internal and external insulation of the house is made with cork panels, locally grown and processed. Windows and doors, highly efficient, are made with  woodframes. For the floors and furniture we also resorted to wood, as much as possible certified, which creates a great, warm atmosphere. For the exterior paints, we used clay-based compounds and, for the interior, water-based paints made from natural materials. Floor and wall tiles, where applied, were partly made with recycled materials. The nice granite stone we used is extracted and worked in a nearby area, reducing the transportation needs.
• Efficiency and technical aspects:
  
  • The house was designed to make the best of the favourable natural conditions, reducing year-round energy needs both for heating and cooling. Surprisingly, this is also not the normal practice in Portugal where conditions are excellent for this.
  • Heating and cooling of the house is done with a heat pump, supported with solar thermal panels, and a floor heating (and cooling) system. Energy needs are reduced via heat-recovery built into the internal ventilation unit, triple-glazed windows and a generous insulation in walls, underfloor and roof, resulting in an A-level house with low overall needs and a very low CO2 footprint. An array of solar PV panels is planned for autonomous supply as well.
  • Electricity needs are kept low with high-efficiency appliances (A+ and higher). Lighting involves plenty of natural light and some very nice light tunnels for the inner divisions, together with carefully placed LED lights elsewhere.
  • Water consumption is also greatly reduced in all outlets and deposits, without sacrificing comfort or efficiency. On the outside, the choice of plants helps to reduce the overall consumption, while keeping the garden vibrant. Given the risk of water shortages in the area, a rain water collection and storage system is also planned for the outside.
• Activities for visitors:
  • For those visiting, we offer a selection of activities that help to discover local products, made with care for people and the environment, and the local cultural and natural heritage.
  • Some of these activities, like yoga lessons in our garden or at the nearby culture centre, aim for a positive well-being of our visitors and a closer interaction with local people.