2025 · Algarve, Portugal · Residential
Villa Marim
Coastal living on the Ria Formosa
Photography: Francisco Nogueira
Threepavilionsarrangedaroundasharedcourtyard—afamilyhomethatworkslikeavillage,whereprivacyandgatheringarebothpossiblewithoutnegotiation.
Specifications
Vernacular Reference
The Ria Formosa's historic fishing villages organise their buildings around shared open space — the street, the dock, the square. The pavilion arrangement at Villa Marim borrows this logic: shared space at the centre, private space at the periphery. The courtyard is the centre of gravity.
The Three Pavilions
The main living pavilion opens on three sides through floor-to-ceiling sliding panels. The bedroom pavilion is more enclosed, with filtered light through limestone brise-soleil. The guest pavilion, smallest of the three, is entirely independent — entered only from the garden, never from inside the main house.
The courtyard is not a garden. It is a room without a roof — paved in limestone, furnished simply, sheltered from the prevailing Atlantic wind by the three enclosing volumes. The family takes most meals here.
The site drops 1.8 metres from north to south, toward the lagoon. Rather than levelling the ground, the covered walkways follow the slope — a gentle ramp that keeps the building connected to the earth rather than sitting above it. The planting is entirely native: lavender, rosemary, cistus, and wild grass.
The walkway roofs are continuous with the pavilion overhangs — a single horizontal line at 2.7 metres that unifies the composition. Below, the ground is allowed to find its own level.
Specification // Architectural Drawings & Plans
Drawing Index & Spatial Sections
DWG // 01 // Ground Floor Plan
SCALE 1:100 @ A1
Primary spatial layout showing living courtyard integration and natural ventilation axis.
The ground plan prioritizes continuous indoor-outdoor flow, wrapping communal living spaces around an internal rainwater garden.
Material Palette
White Hydraulic Lime Render
The white render is a direct inheritance from the vernacular architecture of the Algarve. It is not decorative — it is thermally functional, reflecting solar radiation in summer while allowing the walls to breathe in all seasons.
Alentejo Limestone
Used for all horizontal surfaces — courtyard paving, walkway floors, and the pool surround. The stone is laid in large format to minimise joints, creating a continuous surface that reads as a single plane in the afternoon light.
Cork Insulation
Portuguese cork insulates all roof assemblies. No imported petrochemical insulation was used. The material is harvested 200 kilometres north of the site; its carbon footprint is negative throughout its service life.
Light Strategy
The bedroom pavilion faces east-northeast, receiving direct sun only in the morning and remaining cool through the hottest part of the day. The limestone brise-soleil filters this early light, casting a moving grid of shadow across the bedroom floor — a gentle, natural alarm.
Site Response
The lagoon edge was left entirely unbuilt. A 40-metre setback from the water creates a meadow of native grass that acts as a visual buffer between the architecture and the protected natural habitat. The building never competes with the horizon.
Spatial Archive
The shared courtyard, late afternoon
Limestone paving and white volume
SITE & CONTEXT
The ramp drops 1.8 metres over 22 metres — enough to feel the connection to the ground without requiring steps. Walking between pavilions is walking with the landscape.
Covered walkway following the slope
PROJECT TEAM & CREDITS
