2025 · Algarve, Portugal · residential
Casa Monte
A hillside retreat in the Algarve
Photography: Francisco Nogueira
A house that does not resist its site - it follows the contour, opens to the afternoon light, and settles into the land.
Specifications
View from approach road.
The south-facing slope presented both a constraint and an opportunity. We stretched the programme along the contour...
The hillside falls 12 meters across the site.
Specification // Architectural Drawings & Plans
Drawing Index & Spatial Sections
DWG // 01 // Ground Floor Plan
SCALE 1:100 @ A1
This is an architectural image that shows the ground floor of the site.
Material Palette
Local Limestone
Quarried 12 kilometres from the site, the limestone was chosen for its warm ochre tone that reads identically whether dry or wet - a permanence the Mediterranean climate demands of exterior materials.
White Hydraulic Lime Render
Traditional mineral render rather than synthetic coating - breathable, repairable, and capable of the slight surface variation that gives the facade depth under raking light.
White Oak
European white oak, lightly brushed and oiled, used throughout the interior. The brushing opens the grain without ageing the timber artificially - a surface that will develop honestly over time.
Light Strategy
The building section was designed as a light instrument. A continuous clerestory above the kitchen runs the full length of the north wall, admitting indirect sky light throughout the day. The south apertures are shaded by a 1.2-metre concrete overhang, calibrated to exclude direct sun above 45 degrees elevation - blocking July midday while admitting December afternoon sun.
Site Response
No mature trees were removed. The construction platform was cut in a single pass, preserving the natural drainage. The garden terracing uses the same limestone as the building, so the cultivated landscape reads as an extension of the architecture rather than a setting for it.
Transformation
The full progress of the project when it was at start and at the end
Spatial Archive
CONSTRUCTION INSIGHT
This is the building front view of the project, with a side view
Building and outside and the road
PROJECT TEAM & CREDITS
Recognition
Architectural Prize Award Rwanda
Rwanda Construction , 2024
