CLIENT – PRIVATE
DATE – 2026
LOCATION – VILAMOURA / PORTUGAL
DIMENSION – 245 SQM
PURPOSE – FAMILY HOUSE
STATUS – ONGOING
PLOT AREA – 698 SQM
CONSTRUCTION AREA – 245 SQM
ARCHITECTURE – FRANCISCO SALGADO RÉ / BRUNO ANDRÉ
CONCEPT
THE PROJECT PROPOSES A CONTEMPORARY REINTERPRETATION OF THE TRADITIONAL ALGARVE HOUSE, WHERE VERNACULAR HERITAGE IS TRANSLATED INTO A DYNAMIC INTERPLAY OF REFINED CONTOURS. IT IS AN ARCHITECTURE THAT SEDUCES THROUGH DISCRETION, REVEALING ITS RICHNESS THROUGH THE PURITY OF ITS LINES, SPATIAL ELEGANCE, AND RIGOROUS PROPORTIONS. APPROPRIATING ALMOST THE ENTIRETY OF THE PLOT’S CONSTRUCTION CAPACITY, THE DWELLING UNFOLDS THROUGH GENEROUS SPACES THAT BREATHE WITH AMPLITUDE.
“AND LIGHT FALLS UPON EACH THING WITH EXACT RIGOR.”
— SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER
Open Heart Refuge
Due to the challenges of noise and public exposure generated by the roads bordering the ends of the plot, the site strategy focuses strongly on privacy. The experience of the house gravitates around an “open heart”—a courtyard that acts as the exterior social core, designed to ensure shelter and protection from indiscreet eyes. From this center, the boundaries between interior and exterior dissolve into a direct connection with the surroundings, celebrating the long, warm southern nights around the pool and garden.
Volumetry and Solar Exposure
Taking advantage of a highly favorable solar orientation, the building was strategically positioned at the upper limit of the terrain, freeing up the southern front. Rising above the ground floor, the roof’s volumetry is suspended in calculated overhangs, projecting shadows that outline areas of transition, welcoming, and summer retreat.
Materiality and Light
The materiality exudes a warm minimalism, bathed in a palette of earth tones that anchors the work in the Mediterranean landscape. Estremoz marble emerges as a precious and tactile punctuation, meticulously applied to bases, frames, and finishings. Natural light is sculpted through generous openings, carefully proportioned to balance thermal comfort and privacy. More than just glazed surfaces, the windows are designed as cutouts carved into the thickness of the facade, orchestrating a harmonious dialogue between the mass of the building and the lightness of the void.
