Plaj House by extrastudio: A Serene Coastal Retreat in Lourinhã, Portugal

A Serendipitous Discovery on the Portuguese Coast

During a journey through Portugal, the clients discovered a rare, narrow plot of land near the sea, just an hour north of Lisbon. Located in Lourinhã—Portugal’s renowned center for fruit production and in close proximity to world-famous surfing destinations Ericeira and Peniche—the site offered panoramic views over the valley, village, and ocean.

The plot, a steep and slender strip of land, is just a five-minute walk from the beach. Its natural surroundings inspired the design: modest, simple buildings that harmonize with the landscape, a quality often lost in recent architectural developments.

Concept: Simplicity Meets Freedom

Plaj House embraces the idea of a holiday home as a space of freedom, experimentation, and generosity. The architects envisioned a radically simple form that draws from local architectural traditions but reinterprets them for contemporary living. The design encourages informality, physical presence, and a self-paced rhythm for life by the coast.

Integration with the Landscape

The relationship between the house and its topography is fundamental. The structure lightly touches the ground, allowing the terrain to flow beneath it. Four load-bearing walls support a cruciform podium, creating a hovering effect. Entry occurs at a single point of contact, while terraces extend outward from each side, offering semi-private outdoor spaces connected to interior rooms.

A cut-out courtyard at the entrance, enclosed by a large sliding gate, creates a welcoming open-air threshold. The home is organized on a single level, with kitchen, dining, and living areas forming a generous shared space opening to the north, east, and west. The three bedrooms face south, capturing sunlight throughout the day.

Interior Design: Height, Light, and Spatial Drama

With a restricted 120 m² footprint, the interior leverages verticality to amplify the sense of space. A large skylight in the living room enhances this grandeur, while a series of precisely positioned oculi channel sunlight to illuminate even the darkest corners. For four months each year, sunlight reaches peak intensity in each room at the summer and winter solstices, creating a dynamic play of light and shadow.

Flexibility and Personalization

Architectural simplicity encourages flexibility and informal living. Windows fully recess into walls, transforming indoor areas into expansive alfresco spaces. Open-air experiences extend even to daily routines, such as bathing.

Close collaboration between the clients, builders, and artisans allowed construction to embrace chance, time, and local craftsmanship. Grey plastered walls remain largely bare, creating a monochrome interior accented by subtle interventions: steel doors replaced with red glass, Iranian silver travertine, blue-green marble, and custom niches and portholes. The originally grey exterior eventually gained subtle colors, harmonizing with the surrounding landscape.

Outdoor Spaces: Preserving Nature and Coastal Character

The outdoor area features a long swimming pool among wild pine trees, oriented parallel to the sea. The landscape was minimally altered, with all existing trees preserved. Additionally, a grid of fruit trees was planted on the slopes to maintain Lourinhã’s agricultural character.

The house offers an immersive sensory experience: waves breaking along the shore, distant village voices, night-time bird songs, and croaking frogs from a nearby creek. It epitomizes harmony with nature, simplicity, and slow living by the Portuguese coast.

All Photographs are works of Clemens Poloczek, José Pedro Marques