Pátio das Seis Casas

About

The patio typology in Macau corresponds to a small group of houses facing a common space, which is connected to the public space network through a passageway or gate. Built mostly during the 19th century, predominantly on the Inner Harbour Area, they are conformed by two to three-storey high houses using traditional construction techniques: masonry load-bearing lateral walls, pitch roofs, high ceilings and light-wells for cross ventilation. Its’ residents tended to create strong communities and synergies, and their spatial appropriation is present untill this day in each family’s story recreated in the friezes, enhancing this places with an aura from Macao’s ancient times. Pátio das Seis casas is an L-shaped patio made up of six individual houses facing a common central space with a well. It is one of the rare examples where all buildings are still kept in their traditional form.