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Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Casas da Vargem
Fernando Guerra

Casas da Vargem

The houses are situated in a valley in Ponta do Sol, Madeira, characterized by a mix of small banana plantations and single-family houses. A narrow road on the upper side of the terrain gives access to the inclined terrain 3 meters below, that had 2 small stone storages in ruins. The scale of those storages, typical for the traditional construction in this area, was the basis for this project with 2 semidetached holiday houses. 

The renovated storages and various new volumes with a similar size were organized sloping down the terrain, creating patios and gardens in between. From the other side of the valley the building shows as a collection of smaller volumes, fitting to the area. 

On the interior the rooms follow the natural inclination of the terrain, allowing the spaces to have a direct connection to the gardens and patios which have different levels of privacy, solar exposure, and shade. 

The two houses have a shared pool surrounded by lush vegetation, giving maximum privacy towards the terraces. Each house has a private exterior bathtub. The materials chosen are mostly traditional, natural materials like wooden floors, exposed stone facades for the renovated storages and terraces finished with “calçadaportuguesa”, a traditional-style pavement using small basalt stones. 

 

Material Used :
1. Facade cladding: ETICS, FassaBortolo
2. Flooring: Pine wood, Microcimento
3. Doors: Pine wood
4. Windows: Aluminium, Euro 2000, Sosoares 
5. Interior furniture: Pine wood, locally made
6. Bathroom taps and showers - Bruma
7. Toilets and bathroom sinks - Cifial

Project credits

Architects

Product spec sheet

Windows: Aluminium
Sosoares by Grupo Sosoares S.A.
Bathroom taps and showers
Toilets and bathroom sinks
Facade cladding

Project data

Project Year
2020
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