Located in the historic center of Alcácer do Sal, strongly defined by its vernacular architecture, the project involves the rehabilitation of an existing house, seeking to preserve the building’s identity while adapting it to contemporary ways of living.

The proposal is based on a restrained intervention, valuing the existing structure and spatial organization while removing later additions that had altered the character of the building. The program is reorganized to take advantage of the different conditions of light, privacy, and relationship with the surrounding landscape.

The ground floor has a more private character, accommodating the bedrooms, service areas, and technical spaces. The upper floor contains the main social areas of the house, with the living room, dining area, and kitchen arranged as a continuous space. The removal of the slab that previously separated this floor from the former attic not only increases the ceiling height, but also reveals and enhances the full timber roof structure, which is a defining feature of the interior.

The relationship between interior and exterior is one of the project’s central elements. The courtyard is reorganized across two levels, extending the social areas into a garden that includes a dining area shaded by a pergola and a water plane. The existing tower is preserved and transformed into a covered outdoor space, opening onto the garden and reinforcing the continuity between the house and its exterior spaces.

The material palette extends the character of the original construction through a restrained approach, combining traditional limewash, white walls, timber, and the restoration of the existing hydraulic mosaic tiles. Rather than introducing a new architectural language, the intervention seeks to reveal and reinforce the building’s existing qualities, bringing together memory, light, and landscape.