In the hills of northern Portugal, where the vineyards of the Douro wine region ripple across the contours, sits this new house by Porto’s Pablo Pita Arquitectos. The hillside site is bounded by traditional stone wall which disappears off into the surrounding landscape, but not before forming the anchoring plinth of the Loivos House.
The house seen from the entrance road
One of the instigating structures on the site was a traditional olive press, an old outbuilding that served as the shape and form of the new house, effectively breaking the floorplan up into four distinct quadrants. Pita describes the shallow structure as ‘stretched out like a cat in the sun,’ wrapped around the edge of the topography.
The house seen from across the valley
The new house has to exactly match the footprint of the old press. The house is configured to step down the landscape, with an entrance courtyard with a sculptural olive tree leading leads to both the upper floor sitting area and steps down to the courtyard on the middle level, complete with deep, industrial-looking plunge pool.
Looking across the pool to the valley below
The use of stone and timber has preserved the character of the original ruin, whilst the stepped arrangement and centrally located terrace provides spacious accommodation on the lowermost floor. Here there are four modest bedrooms, all with views down the valley, alongside two bathrooms, a storage space and the all-important wine cellar.
Each of the quadrants has been allocated a role – living space, terrace, pool and courtyard, with the lowest cut into the hillside. From street level, the scale and scope of the house is hidden, and the stone schist walls that anchor the house add another layer of mystery and solidity.
The house is intended for occasional occupation and is therefore pared back to the absolute minimum, inside and out. The stark simplicity of the pool, with the reflection of a pine tree, is set against the stone and wooden cladding. The large expanses of glass mostly face south down the valley, away from passing eyes.
The top floor houses a reflective living space with views over the Douro River, with a large kitchen immediately below, with large sliding doors that open onto the pool terrace. Raw concrete finishes inside the main spaces are paired with wooden cabinetry and staircases.
‘The morphology of the ruin is maintained - stabilised, restructured and rebuilt,’ say the architects. A ruin reborn as a retreat, the Loivos House is a reflective space that maintains a strong connection to the past.
The view of the Douro River from the terrace