Architects: Fábio Ferreira Neves Area: 185 m² Year: 2023 Photographs: David Pereira Lead Architects: Fábio Ferreira Neves Engineering: Carlos Gonçalves Contractor: Recenbloco Construções e Isolamentos Carpentry: Lúcinio Ferreira Neves City: Casa do Infantado Country: Portugal
Casa no Meco is a contemporary single-family home designed by Fábio Ferreira Neves in a coastal village in Portugal, conceived as a respectful replacement for the client’s childhood house. Rooted in local vernacular traditions, the design adopts a simple pitched-roof volume that blends into its surroundings while carefully responding to issues of privacy, light, and orientation. The house is organized with more closed, service-oriented spaces facing the street, and open living areas oriented toward a private garden, allowing natural light and outdoor views to shape daily life. Through restrained form, thoughtful spatial organization, and the use of traditional materials such as white walls and wooden shutters, the project achieves a quiet balance between memory, context, and contemporary living.
Nestled in the small coastal village of Aldeia do Mico on Portugal's Atlantic coast,
Casa No Mico emerges as a quiet yet powerful response to its unique context.
Once a rural village defined by low, traditional structures, this place has seen dramatic
transformations over recent decades due to its proximity to sandy beaches and the growth of
holiday destinations. Here, architect Favio Ferreira Neves embraces both the history and
evolving landscape, forging a residence that resonates with tradition while meeting contemporary
living needs. Commissioned by a client who longed to replace the home where he grew up,
the project sought to honor memory, place, and privacy. Rather than reinterpret the past
superficially, Neves proposes a simple yet thoughtfully composed building that respects
the longitudinal shape of the lot and the local building language. A pitched roof,
emblematic of the region's vernacular architecture, gives the house its familiar silhouette against
the backdrop of overscaled buildings nearby. The spatial organization of Casa No Mico is
deliberate in its clarity. To the east, spaces that support daily life such as bathrooms, closets,
circulation areas, and the kitchen are arranged with modest openings that ensure privacy and
acoustic control from the access road. These restrained facades serve as a protective shell,
buffering the interior from the street and immediate surroundings. By contrast, the western
side of the house unfolds more openly toward the private garden. Here, living spaces, the main
living room, home office, and bedrooms are framed by generous windows. Wooden exterior shutters not
only regulate light and ventilation but also mediate the experience between inside and outside,
creating a fluid dialogue with nature and the southern sun.
Material choices throughout the residence echo the village's Mediterranean heritage.
Whitewashed walls and traditional wooden shutters reference local building traditions,
while the interplay of handmade cement tiles and warm wooden floors inside reinforces the
home's tactile and sensory qualities. Between the street and the main residence,
a symbolic stone line links the parking area to a technical volume,
paying homage to the original oven house that once occupied the site.
Ultimately, Casa No Mico exemplifies a refined architectural approach that balances respect for
tradition with contemporary spatial strategies. By subtracting and refining forms, the design
contours unwanted views and maximizes exposure to natural light. The careful modulation of ceiling
heights and transitions between public and private spaces creates moments of quiet tension
and clarity. In this way, the house transcends its programmatic requirements, standing as a
testament to how regional architecture can evolve gracefully and meaningfully in the 21st century.
