Project Name
Casa Elíptica
Posted in
Residential
Location
Luz, Lagos
Portugal
Official Website
Mário Martins Atelier
Architecture Practice
Mário Martins Atelier
Project Team
Sónia Fialho, Rui Duarte, Nuno Colaço, Sara Silva, Rui Santos
Area (sqm)
400
Completed
2014
Detailed Information
Project NameCasa ElípticaPosted inResidentialLocation
Luz, Lagos
Portugal
Official WebsiteMário Martins AtelierArchitecture PracticeMário Martins AtelierProject TeamSónia Fialho, Rui Duarte, Nuno Colaço, Sara Silva, Rui Santos
Area (sqm)400Completed2014

The white, fluid lines of the Elliptic House in Luz, Lagos, Portugal effortlessly reflect the light of the sun as well as the shape of the coastal landscape. Designed by Mário Martins Atelier and completed in 2014, this 450 square metre, four bedroom residence seems to be set in the land with no apparent delineation points as to where the design starts and where it reaches its apex.   

The designer says that the home's design is "the result of an idea," which was then all but sculpted into the terrain. For a structure of such breadth it certainly conveys a weightless feeling, as if it's constantly in motion, twirling around itself as it concurrently twirls in place in the bluff overlooking the sea. But in truth those are just fanciful descriptions of what is a very carefully thought out and engineered design. One that is both intriguing as well as practical.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

The home's two levels are set at a complementing angle - bringing that aforementioned "motion" into the design - and highlight each other through ingenious cutouts. The pool and patio on the ground floor bridge the grassy slope of the garden with the building by creating an organic volume that sweeps towards it. The second story extends out far past its glass enclosed balcony, thus creating an "awning" over the patio, its large elliptical cutout giving play to a detailing of light and shade; one that at once protects the patio as well as highlights it, changing its shape and direction just as the sun shifts in the sky.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Inside, the same minimal, white and expansive aesthetic continues. Most of the furnishings are in shades of white, off-white and light gray, thus providing an unobtrusive complement to the interior's architectural forms - such as the curving, sweeping staircase and wide, round windows - that echo those of the exterior. 

And last but not least, the blazing white of the building and the intense blue of the pool reflect and complement the bright blue of the sky, as well as the deep blue of the sea with an almost Cycladic fluidity, proving that perfect design is at once complicated and, yet, simple.   

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

Photo © FG+SG Architectural Photography.

The Elliptic House by Mário Martins Atelier in Lagos, Portugal

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