Program: The clients wanted their second home in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela mountain range to be spacious, peaceful, quiet, and open to the outdoors, with views of the dramatic landscape as well as the nearby vineyards, pines, and olive trees.

Location: Gateira, Penela, Portugal

Solution: The architects’ design followed the topography of the site, creating a split-level common room at the structure’s core. Private areas, each with their own access to the outdoors, are placed at distinct elevations. Passages between parts of the house are oriented for maximum passive cooling.

Construction and materials: The home’s reinforced concrete structure, which remains visible in the ceilings, is covered by schist dry wall and finished with white plaster and cork. Floors, the terrace, and the roof are all polished screed, while shutters of seasoned iroko wood connect rooms and spaces to the outside.

Architect: 
Camarim
Rua da Madalena 80, Rooms 7 and 8
1100-322 Lisbon, Portugal
+351 218 825 501

Completion date: 2014

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:

Project Architects: Vasco Correia, Patrícia Sousa
Collaborators: Tiago Garrido, Jonas Grinevicius, Christoph Schwander

Engineers:

Structural - ARA Associados
Civil - Engimodus
Mechanical - Blueorizon

General contractor: Civifran

Photographer: Nelson Garrido (+351 931 196 891) 

Lighting and acoustical consultants: Blueorizon