Algarve 047

This house in the south of Portugal combines Moorish influences in a series of private courtyards and unexpected double-height spaces, with contemporary materials and glazing. It is designed to be integral with the landscape allowing views out over reed beds and a lake.

Traditionally houses in the South of Portugal were built with thick walls and small windows, but with careful orientation large glazed areas have been introduced to allow a closer connection to the landscape.

A new garden has been designed in collaboration with innovative landscape architect Maurice Levy, using natural planting with no irrigation. Corten steel walls and gates echo the deep red of the Algarvian soil.