The owners of Casa Plaj, while travelling in Portugal, came across a small plot of land located by the ocean, near the village of Lourinhã, an hour’s drive from Lisbon. The region is known for its fruit orchards and its proximity to popular surf spots. Its architecture, on the other hand, is distinguished by modest buildings blended into the natural surroundings. This is where the Portuguese house by extrastudio was built, which draws on local traditions and engages in a unique dialogue with the landscape.
Portuguese house hovering above the site
The parcel of land proved to be steep and narrow, but its location provides extraordinary views of the ocean, the valley and the remote village. The architects decided that the new house would only gently touch the ground. Four load-bearing walls support a cross-shaped platform on which the body of the building is set. The platform touches the slope at one point, allowing access to the house, and at other points it turns into terraces suspended above the ground. These give each room a private outdoor space.
Simplicity and monumentality
The form of the building is deliberately sparing, drawing inspiration from local architecture. The open-air entrance courtyard can be closed off with a large sliding gate. The interior of the house is organised on one level. The central area is occupied by the common space of the kitchen, dining room and living room opening onto three sides of the world, while the bedrooms face south. Although the house is only 120sq m in size, the interior gives a sense of scale thanks to the impressive height of the rooms and the use of a skylight. This is complemented by a system of oculi, which distribute light deep into the building. The sun’s rays travel through successive interiors for several months of the year, culminating during the solstices.
Freedom of use
The design solutions used here promote flexibility. The windows retract completely into the walls, making the boundary between inside and outside disappear. This makes it possible to experience moments such as bathing under a sky full of stars. The bare walls of the house were left unplastered, which gives the whole house a monochromatic character. Minor alterations during construction added an individual touch to the building. Here, travertine and marble were used in blue-green tones, and in one area red glass appeared instead of steel doors.
Portuguese house in the landscape
The surroundings of Casa Plaj were left almost untouched. Only among the wild pines was a long pool created that runs parallel to the sea line. In the garden, all the trees were retained and rows of fruit trees were planted on the slopes to maintain the agricultural character of the project and fit it even better into the landscape. After the construction was completed, the owners invited the architects from extrastudio to spend time together. All that could be heard in the house was the sound of the ocean and the echo of voices coming from the valley. At night, the chirping of birds echoed and frogs performed near the stream. This is how a space was created that allows you to get away from everyday life and experience nature in its simplest yet fullest form.
Project: extrastudio
Location: Lourinhã, Portugal
Years of construction: 2020-2025
Team: João Caldeira Ferrão, João Costa Ribeiro, Sónia Oliveira, Rita Rodrigues, Andreia Simões, Marta Oliveira, Filipa Almeida, Mariana Brandão
Photography: Clemens Poloczek
Also read: single-family home | Interiors | Minimalism| whiteMAD on Instagram | Portugal
