Casa Verde is located in Costa Nova do Prado, a Portuguese Atlantic beach famous forits “palheiros”—originally storage buildings used in fishing, which over generationstransformed into colorful striped houses, delighting the holidaymakers lucky enough topass through.
The single-family house sits on an urban plot next to the beach dunes, covered withvegetation that shields the buildings from the north winds and the rough Atlantic waters. The site, with its unique landscape between the estuary and the sea, is exposedto tough weather, alternating between calm, sunny summer days and themore severe storms of winter.
Vernacular buildings have always responded to the traditional needs of local communities. While the project embraces a contemporary style using modern materials, itavoids any artificial copying of the wooden details typical of traditional buildings. Still,careful observation of these models helped guide some of the design choices.
The volume takes on a simple, compact form with clean geometry, reinterpreting thetraditional local typology, particularly with the two-pitched roof. Even though the openings are fairly large, they are always protected and oriented towards balconies or thecourtyard, reducing their presence on the street. This approach gives the house asober, robust character while ensuring privacy inside and framing the surrounding landscape.
Os palheiros(barns), traditionally built on sandy, flood-prone terrain, are usually raisedabove the ground. InCasa Verde, this solution isn’t applied literally, but the principle isreinterpreted through the full concrete cladding of the ground floor, conceived as alarge plinth on which the “green” archetype rests, symbolically lifting the volume fromthe ground.
To reinforce its abstract character, the exterior finishes are also in concrete. Theground flooris, quite simply, nonexistent.
The color, paired with the zinc roof in the same shade, really stands out in the composition. The effect is strengthened by the two dormers, which, like binoculars, frame thesurrounding landscape. At the same time, the chosen tone lets the house merge withthe dune vegetation, helping it sit naturally in its environment.
The interiors are kept deliberately minimal, providing a counterpoint to the intensity ofthe exterior. White dominates—on the floors, joinery, and furniture—interrupted onlyby the concrete ceilings, a direct result of the solid slabs above.
In the exterior courtyard, facing south and the neighboring houses, the square poolechoes the dune green. Accented with a few plants, it helps balance the less favorablecorner of the site, while enjoying more shelter from the prevailing north winds and better sunlight.
Overall, the project presents a simple, shelter-like home with a sober, timeless charac-ter. It embraces a vernacular essence without being tied to any particular style, holdingthe joy of warm summer days while
