In the breathtaking setting of a nature reserve in the Algarve, Portugal, Pedro Domingos has recently designed Casa Luum, a holiday home where plastic volumes and minimal style merge in harmony with their surrounding. The house is located at the end of a dirt road, where once there was a ruin eroded by years. From the dusty skeleton of the ancient dwelling, Pedro Domingos has created a large modern residence that is articulated on two levels and wraps around a courtyard. Here there is a stone swimming pool and a patio punctuated by suggestive corners, which originate from the daring interweaving of the volumes.
The ground floor houses a generous living area, with kitchen and dining room overlooking the courtyard, and four smaller bedrooms, where the need for quiet shines through the skinny and elegant minimalism of the furnishings. A fireplace designed by Alfonso Mila and Frederic Correa in 1965 takes pride of place in the living room, while shuttered windows and doors are all handmade. Kitchen counters, sinks and benches have been fashioned from natural stone.
On the upper floor there is a panoramic living room, from which you can admire the pristine beauty of the reserve, thanks to the huge windows that blunt the boundary between inside and outside. The house is built with an elementary system similar to local popular architecture: white concrete floors, white walls and ceilings, wooden window frames and steel sliding doors. The water containers of the house: bath tank, counters, washbasins and showers, are made in massive local stone. The atmosphere of the house is defined by a set of spaces of light and shadow where the water is the primordial material. The house is available to rent via The Perfect Hideaway from $1,600 per week.
