On a trip through the Portuguese countryside, a chance discovery led to the creation of a remarkable holiday home in Portugal. Finding a steep, narrow plot of land just a five-minute walk from the beach near Lourinhã, the clients saw potential where others might have seen limitation. They enlisted Porto-based extrastudio architecture to conceive a retreat that would embrace its dramatic coastal setting. The result is Casa Plaj, a radically simple concrete form that appears to hover above the terrain, offering a profound and informal connection to the landscape.
The project is a masterclass in contemporary Portuguese architecture, drawing inspiration from the modest, simple buildings that historically dot the Lourinhã region. extrastudio sought to reinterpret these local elements through a modern lens, creating a home that feels both timeless and of the present. The fundamental relationship with the topography dictated the design. The house touches the ground as lightly as possible, perched atop a cruciform podium supported by four load-bearing walls. This ingenious approach allows the existing slope to flow undisturbed beneath the structure, with cantilevered terraces extending in all directions to provide each room with a private outdoor refuge.
Access is granted through a void cut into the home’s solid form, creating an open-air courtyard entrance enclosed by a large, sliding gate. The single-level living layout is both generous and efficient. The kitchen, dining, and living areas share one expansive, open space that opens symmetrically to the north, east, and west, bathing the interior in light and framing panoramic views. The three bedrooms face south, ensuring privacy and a unique perspective on the surrounding valley. Despite a restricted enclosed area of 120m2, the design compensates with volume, using its height to create an unexpected sense of grandeur.
A large skylight in the living room amplifies this feeling of scale, but the true magic lies in a meticulously planned play of light. A series of oculi, precisely positioned within the structure’s geometry using a 3D model, allow direct light to cut through the house, reaching its deepest corners. For four months of the year, a beam of light illuminates each room before sunset, with peak intensity occurring dramatically on the summer and winter solstices, turning the architecture into a celestial timepiece.
Simple architectural devices encourage a fluid, informal lifestyle. Windows recede completely into the walls, effectively transforming the solid building into a vast, open pavilion. This seamless indoor-outdoor connection allows moments like bathing to become open-air experiences, fully immersed in the natural surroundings. The construction process itself was a dialogue, with the builder’s knowledge leaving its mark. Grey plastered walls were left bare for a monochrome interior, while spontaneous additions like new portholes, a red glass door, and the selection of Iranian silver travertine and blueish-green marble introduced subtle, personal colour.
Outside, a long swimming pool stands parallel to the sea among wild pine trees. The landscape architecture was approached with a light touch; all existing trees were retained, and a new grid of fruit trees was planted on the slopes to preserve the area’s agricultural character. The completed house is not just a structure but an experience—a quiet, off-the-grid retreat defined by the sound of breaking waves and distant voices across the valley. At Casa Plaj, extrastudio architecture has crafted a serene sanctuary that is both a bold statement and a humble homage to its place, proving that the most radical designs are often the simplest.