A cluster of wooden cabins modelled on fishing huts surround a patio and swimming pool at Casa Donovan, completed by Portuguese studio PIMAA Architects in the coastal village of Comporta.
The 417-square-metre Portuguese home is surrounded by a pine forest and designed by PIMAA Architects to feel “authentic and timeless”.
To create a strong connection between indoors and outdoors, it is split across five volumes connected by a series of wooden decks and walkways, intended to emulate the area’s traditional fishing huts.
“The project draws inspiration from the deeply rooted heritage of the local fishing community,” PIMAA founder Gonçalo Pires Marques told Dezeen.
“The creative process was guided by the fishermen, the pine forest, the sun, and the beach – elements that acted as a compass, orienting the design towards authenticity and timelessness,” he added.
“Our design emerges as a contemporary homage to this rich tradition, paying tribute to authenticity and craftsmanship.”
At the centre of the site is Casa Donavan’s “day volume”, which combines the living, dining and kitchen spaces beneath a sloping roof with a triangular skylight.
Two large windows in these living spaces look out towards the central patio and swimming pool, which is further enclosed by Casa Donavan’s “night areas” – two rectilinear volumes on either side that contain the main and guest bedrooms.
To the south, two small structures flank the central living volume, containing a gym that is oriented westwards towards the setting sun and a garage to the east at the site’s entrance.
“An open garage marks the property’s entrance, blending functionality with understated architectural expression,” said Pires Marques.
Each of Casa Donovan’s structures has large glazed openings, designed to maximise outward views and natural light, “dissolving boundaries between interior and exterior”.
They are also unified by timber cladding on their exteriors, with slatted screens providing greater privacy and sun shading to the south-facing areas.
PIMAA Architects was founded in 2007 by Pires Marques with José Pires Marques.
Other homes in Portugal recently featured on Dezeen include a curving concrete home for a sculptor in the Azores by Bernardo Rodrigues Architects and a home in Santo Tirso designed by Pema Studio to resemble a “closed fortress”.
The photography is by Ricardo Cruz.
