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Screen Wall with Mysterious Symbols Celebrates a Fishing City’s Traditions

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The entire east facing city side of a house has a completely adjustable screen that folds like an accordion.

Through the enigmatic symbols on the screen, this house by dIONISO LAB in the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim, celebrates the long history of its connection to the sea and fishing.

The screen covering the entire front of the house is perforated with what seem to us to be very enigmatic symbols.

But to the denizens of this ancient fishing village, these mysterious signs are very familiar.

The symbols are a proto-writing system that was used to mark personal and fishing belongings.

Passed down from father to son through generations of fishermen, the symbols, called “siglas poveiras” evolved new combinations over time.

The house is very simple in plan. By splitting the interior into half floors, no space is more than a few steps up or down.

In this way, the split levels make it comfortable to travel between floors with higher ceilings, creating a sense of additional space on the narrow lot in the tightly built old city.

The stair anchors the narrow space.

To mark it as the heart of the house, the stair wall is painted a bold fisherman’s blue – creating continuity.

On the back of the house, facing a small garden, venetian blinds screen the heat from afternoon sun.

The front of the house pays homage to the city’s ancient memories and traditions.