Douro Valley House

There are only a few instances in an architectural career where a client and an architect’s vision unify into an immaculate and complete expression of art and architecture. We were very fortunate to work with a couple who, devoted to the ideals of minimalism’s stark allure, asked us to design a house in the Douro , located on the stunning views over Douro valley . The desire to interfere as little as possible with the visual topography of the landscape prompted to attach the house to the ground and find façade and roof solutions with a direct relationship to the surroundings. The idea of a 'crouching building' guides the decisions concerning volume, position, occupation, exterior outfit and façade claddings. The property requires a holiday house program able to adjust to changes related to the number of users, the season, and so on. This complex program (couple, family, friends; summer, winter; weekend, long terms) is solved attending to values of low energy, spatial simplicity and flexibility of use.