Location
Comporta, Portugal
Year
2024
Area
420 m²
Client
Private client
Status
Completed
Duration
22 months
Design team
Jonas Nørd, Marta Sóbria, Inês Calado
Photography
Atelier Nørd
(The project)
A low, cantilevered house between pine forest and rice fields, opening entirely to the south light.
Casa Alvor sits at the edge of a pine forest, looking across rice fields towards the Atlantic. The brief was simple: a house for a family of five that could open completely in summer and feel sheltered in winter.
One long gesture
The house is a single cantilevered volume resting on a stone plinth. Its deep roof shades a wall of glass that slides away entirely, turning the living spaces into a covered terrace for half the year.
Inside, oak joinery and lime plaster keep the palette quiet, so that the changing light across the fields becomes the main event.
Living with the seasons
In winter the glass slides closed and the thick plinth releases the day’s warmth into the evening. In summer, cross-ventilation through the long plan keeps every room cool without air conditioning.
The garden was planted with the family over two autumns, using only species native to the Comporta dunes.
(The brief)
A family of five wanted a house that could open completely to summer and still feel sheltered through the Atlantic winter — without ever looking like a fortress.
(Our response)
We lifted a single long volume onto a stone plinth and gave it a deep, cantilevered roof. Sliding glass walls disappear into pockets, turning the living spaces into a shaded terrace for half the year.
South terrace at dusk, looking towards the rice fields
(Materials)
A quiet palette.
They listened for months before drawing a single line. Four years on, the house still surprises us — the way the light finds the kitchen at seven every morning.
Helena & Tomás Ribeiro, homeowners
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