The project showcases Aires Mateus’ signature architectural style, characterized by monolithic, understated volumes. The architect fully embraced the site’s topographical variations. By distributing the house into multiple habitable volumes, he created a variety of spaces and viewpoints, some open to the expansive surroundings, others more intimate, yet always maintaining a close connection to nature and the panoramic landscape.

The geometric simplicity of the design and the raw rigor of exposed concrete allow the surrounding landscape to take center stage, beautifully framed by the architecture. Thoughtful cutouts and voids create precise, ever-changing views of nature and the sky, animated throughout the day by shifting patterns of light and shadow.

The white-painted interior spaces evoke the vernacular codes of Mediterranean architecture. Oak flooring and light wood joinery soften the raw, textured concrete exterior, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
The landscaped park, designed in an English style, alternates between flower beds, pathways lined with lemon, orange, and almond trees, and groves of pine and cork oak. The heated infinity pool, also designed by the architect, mirrors the silhouette of a swallow, a nod to the local fauna.

Born in 1963 in Lisbon and graduating in 1986, Manuel Aires Mateus co-founded Aires Mateus & Associados with his brother Francisco Aires Mateus and Gonçalo Byrne in 1988. For over 30 years, their firm has distinguished itself in architecture, urban planning, and the restoration of historical monuments. Their work, widely published both nationally and internationally, contributes to contemporary architectural discourse.

The firm primarily builds in Portugal, but also has projects in Belgium, Switzerland, and Ireland. In France, they designed the Centre de Création Contemporaine-Olivier Debré in Tours (2015), which hosted a monographic exhibition on the firm during its inauguration. Aires Mateus presented an impressive collection of models, showcasing the breadth of their work.
Their experimental and sensitive approach to architectural projects emphasizes the interplay of interactions and productive contrasts, using voids to generate space “in negative.” Favoring a minimalist yet sculptural approach, Aires Mateus’ architecture is defined by the homogeneity of its cladding materials and a monolithic effect. It stands out for its lightness, yet carries a powerful spiritual and emotional presence.

Since 2001, Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus have been professors at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, and since 1998, at the Autonomous University of Lisbon. They have led numerous design workshops and have been invited to teach abroad, including at the Oslo School of Architecture in 2009 and the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2002 and 2005.