Casa no Geres, Portugal

The otherworldly landscape of Peneda-Gerês National Park, which lies just a stone’s throw from the Spanish border in Portugal’s northernmost tip, is home to the remarkable Casa no Gerês. The house is the first project by Porto-based architectural duo Graça Correia (a protégé of Souto Moura, who in turn was the star pupil of Álvaro Siza, the Portuguese Pritzker laureate) and her new partner, Italian Roberto Ragazzi.

The house's story begins back in 2003 when Micé and Eduardo Pinto Ferreira, clients of Correia since the early 1990s, discovered by chance the 5,000 sq m site by the Cávado river while water-skiing in the region. 'It was just what we were looking for: forested, flanked by a stream and with absolutely no buildings nearby,' says Micé. Correia was the obvious choice for designing the weekend retreat that would replace the existing ruins on the plot. 'We knew Graça Correia from previous projects. She had always surprised us with the beauty and originality of her work.'

Correia and Ragazzi were given a qualified carte blanche: they were allowed to do anything, providing they didn't cut down any of the trees on site and managed the tricky balancing act of building the house in concrete while not isolating its inhabitants from their surroundings. The structure also had to house the couple and their grown-up child, although the planning permission allowed for a maximum size of just 60 sq m.

To read about the architects' canny solution to this conundrum, buy the magazine, on sale now. For exclusive images of the exterior and interior of Casa no Gerês, click on the image below.