Three Courtyard House
Francisco Nogueira
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct Name
LightingGira
GlassGuardian Glass
Toilet fixturesCBC
Paint/ varnishesCIN, S.A.
WINDOWSGrupo Sosoares S.A.
Toilet furnitureGSI Ceramica

Product Spec Sheet
Lighting
by Gira
Glass
Toilet fixtures
by CBC
Paint/ varnishes
WINDOWS
Toilet furniture

Three Courtyard House

EXTRASTUDIO as Architects

The house is located in a small village 25km south of Lisbon, within a natural park whose name Azeitao, derives from Arabic, Az-zeitum - the olive grove. Predominantly a rural region, the area has a hot climate, perfect for the production of wine and olive oil. The clients, a couple of agronomists with two children, inherited a long, narrow plot in the middle of the village and decided to move from their apartment, looking for a different way of living.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

The house has three courtyards within, to counteract the restrictions of the narrow plot.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

The first separates the house from the street, creating a small hideout, secluded from village life and passersby.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

The second courtyard is placed at the center, bringing light into the house. It is a walled garden with all spaces revolving around it, a device found in many houses of Arabic tradition in the south of Portugal and Spain. In this courtyard, there's a small circular window in the ground. Below it rests a special room, an octagonal wine cellar, accommodating an extensive wine collection, with rare wines dating from the 19th century.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

The third courtyard is a platform; a belvedere open on two sides, overlooking the village and the magnificent vineyards in the hills. Sour cherry trees will provide shade, creating an elevated garden, three meters above ground.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

For this project, we asked the landscape architects to work in a different way; all the plant specimens were collected from the wild, grown in the hills nearby and brought especially here. A wild, mysterious scent invades the rooms on hot summer nights, a reminder of its Mediterranean roots.

photo_credit Francisco Nogueira
Francisco Nogueira

From outside, the house has a discreet and peaceful quality; simple white walls with few openings. One can barely notice it or imagine what it contains. In many ways, it's like a person.

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