ARX

The house is conceived as a material and tectonic volume, with a faceted and articulated geometry, firmly anchored to the terrain. Although positioned halfway up the slope, it occupies a ridge, allowing it to enjoy a commanding visual relationship with the surrounding landscape.

Conceptually, it evokes the presence of the defensive structures that punctuate this stretch of coastline — forts, bastions and watchtowers — which establish a close relationship of vigilance between land and sea.

These structures often predate later, more extensive urban settlements. Reflecting the specific characteristics of their territories, their forms vary from square plans to star-shaped configurations, ranging from idealised geometries to adapted or hybrid designs. In all cases, they employ a morphological strategy of camouflage or fusion with the landscape.

Within this physical and conceptual framework, the house adopts a multifaceted, star-shaped morphology, predominantly opaque in expression despite its generous recessed openings. The volume is constructed in exposed concrete with green pigmentation, conceived as an artefact that belongs to, or emerges from, the earth — in symbiosis rather than opposition to its surroundings. Its physical presence is therefore intended to achieve a high degree of integration with the landscape.

The roof is landscaped, reinforcing this sense of belonging while creating a new territory from which to experience the landscape beyond the ground itself. Ideally, even with contemporary digital tools such as Google Earth and other aerial-view platforms, the house should not be easy to locate.

Given the demanding climatic conditions of the Guincho area, the house is excavated from within, creating two large courtyards at its heart. This strategy brings a significant fragment of the natural landscape into the centre of the house, around which daily life unfolds in a protected environment, sheltered from the harsh northwesterly winds and calmly open to the south.

The existing rock formations are naturally integrated into the courtyards, while the vegetation is drawn from the native flora, establishing a continuity between the house and the surrounding terrain. Their enclosing walls are fully glazed, encouraging a direct relationship with nature, while the floors and interior walls facing the courtyards are finished in exposed timber, giving a warmer expression to this relationship.