Emerging from a gently rolling hill in the Algarve region of southern Portugal is the Casa Zauia designed by Portuguese studio Mario Martins Atelier.
The home is a direct translation of the various design restrictions present in this area while posing as a modern piece of architecture. The rectangular form originates from within the topography and projects out until floating over the landscape, supported upon angled tube steel columns.
Casa Zauia is situated on a hill overlooking Vale da Lama, in the Lagos area of the Algarve – Portugal. It is built on a large property, facing east, with an amazing view of the Alvor Estuary and Lagos Bay.
Paradoxically, the design of the house was inspired by the restrictions and limitations imposed on its construction. It is intended to be an architectural object of great simplicity and lightness: balanced, precise and remarkably modern. The house is purely a white, horizontal structure. Its transparency comes from the long, continuous glassed area, protected from the effects of the sun, which has a spacious, stunningly shaded, south-facing patio.
The pool, rectangular and elegant, is the continuation of a water mirror which “pours” out of the supporting wall made of exposed concrete. It has a central platform, also in concrete, as an element to separate it which is used as a deck/sitting area.
The wide edge of the pool highlights the presence of water in both in the constructed and natural environments, where the water of the bay blends into the horizon.