Cerro d’Águia: a house on dry-stone terraces

The project

A house of more than 2 000 m² above the sea in Albufeira, carried on dry-stone terraces that absorb the slope and hide the parking. In licensing.

What we were responsible for

A house of more than 2 000 m² built on a falling site above the sea, held by a base of dry-stone terraces that does most of the work: it takes up the slope, hides the parking, and leaves a single long horizontal volume on top with a green roof over it. The plot allows 1 120 m² of footprint and 2 241 m² of construction; the basement holds the cars, which under the local regulation may exceed the footprint because it sits below the access road. Inside, the plan runs east to west so that the living room, the dining room and the pool all face the same horizon. Architecture and engineering under one design contract, in licensing.

What this does not include

The client is not named and neither is the plot. There are aerial views of this house and they are deliberately not published: they show the neighbouring houses in enough detail to place the site. The images are renders: the project is in licensing and nothing is built. The furniture and the art are indicative of the design intent, not a specification, and the piano is a render prop. The construction contract has not been awarded.