In The Algarve, On The Hills Above Palmares, A Contemporary Villa Overlooking Lagos Bay, Set On

In the Algarve, on the hills above Palmares, a contemporary villa overlooking Lagos Bay, set on approximately 3,000 m² of land. The Algarve takes its name from the Arabic al-Gharb, meaning ‘the West’. Five centuries of Moorish presence established a style of architecture that the region has never quite abandoned. It is recognisable by its whitewashed cubic forms, its flat terraced roofs – the açoteias – where figs and almonds were once dried, and by walls designed to let in light rather than for ornamentation.

On the heights of Palmares, overlooking Lagos Bay, a contemporary villa draws on this architectural language without copying it. Its lines are horizontal, its forms pared-back, and its openings look out towards the ocean. The architecture follows the slope of the land, allowing the landscape to take centre stage. Nearly eight centuries separate these two ways of building, yet the same obvious connection unites them.