Casa dos Mores

A single-wall house to shelter love from prying eyes

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An outstanding lookout point at the peak of a cliff, with open views of the ocean and the infinite horizon, yet nestled within exuberant vegetation and sheltered from the elements and the prying eyes of majestic trees. The house is pure serenity, filled with the scent of the sea and graced by the sound of wandering birds, it is as close as living on a permanent holiday feels like.

The topography of this site offered the not-so-common opportunity to design a house that defies the distinction between indoors and outdoors thanks to full-height windows all around while maintaining the feeling of complete privacy and exclusive isolation.

Location: Carvoeiro, Algarve, Portugal
Size: 500m2
Sector: private residential

Archidaily project featured on 27, June 2023
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Casa dos Mores - Villa with a pool, an outdoor dining room with a table and design chairs and a designed garden

The building seems gently laid upon the cliff of which it seconds and follows every gentle drop and bend, every sinuosity and shape. The roof is also carefully laid, rising towards a secular pine nearby and suggesting an open dialogue between now and eternity, almost a weightless completion of this delicate union of building and land.

Casa dos Mores - modern and minimal villa architecture facade insert into a cliff on Algarve coast

Casa dos Mores - Portugal ocean view from a villa nested in a cliff with a custom-made outdoor pathway

Casa dos Mores - ocean view from an outdoor pool villa in Algarve

Casa dos Mores - villa timber custom-made entrance with calçada Portuguese design

Casa dos Mores - Algarvian pines trees in a villa garden with a clear sky

Casa dos Mores - timber main entrance door and outdoor Portuguese calçada floor design detail

Two large skylights have been placed to
maximize the sensation of nature
within the walls

which is a distinctive motif
of the architectural narrative of the house

Casa dos Mores - contemporary interior design villa living room with a skylight, timber staircase, a window to the Portuguese ocean and custom-made furniture

Casa dos Mores - interior villa timber custom-made interior staircase with a skylight

Casa dos Mores - modern kitchen design with a skylight and a window to the outdoor kitchen area and an ocean view for a villa in Algarve

Casa dos Mores - minimal and modern bespoke kitchen in black and white in a villa in Algarve

Casa dos Mores - white and silver modern kitchen design with a bespoke furniture with a skylight

Casa dos Mores - white and silver modern bespoke kitchen architect design

All spaces are wide and open with few selected decorative
elements that define them and provide character.

allowing the quality AND

the texture of solid wood

and glass to play their role fully

Casa dos Mores - modern and minimal kitchen with chic dining room furniture and a custom-made timber wardrobe

Casa dos Mores - interior design villa dining room detail of a table and design chairs with a custom-made wardrobe furniture in Algarve

Casa dos Mores - villa bespoke television spot furniture

Casa dos Mores - villa interior brown sofa living room with custom-made furniture and dining table with designer lighting feature

Casa dos Mores - green pouffe handknitted on a custom-made brown ceramic floor in a villa in Algarve

Indoors the bright spaces are defined
by audacious elements like

timber stairs with a total

diva flair and custom-made

furnishing of outstanding craftsmanship

Casa dos Mores - interior villa custom-made timber staircase detail

Casa dos Mores - interior villa beautiful bathroom design with light and shadow playing on a wall

Casa dos Mores - minimal outdoor indoor design spaces for a bathroom in a villa in Algarve

Casa dos Mores - timber floor in a bedroom with a custom-made window looking the landscape

The privileged location and
the mild climate are instrumental

in demanding outdoor living
just as comfortable
as the indoor one

The studio took the assignment very seriously creating: a customised pool, open-air kitchen, hole-in-the-wall fireplace and a rock pathway leading to a romantic two-seated secret spot where to wine the day away.