The house was commissioned by a large multi-generational family. The project is sited in Fuseta, a small coastal town in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The brief required 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an ensuite as well as a reading room, workspace and a basement that could house a home cinema and games area. The rooms are organised as a functional stack around a central courtyard with a pool. The climate in Algarve is characterised by extremely hot summers and mild winters. The design features a solid white masonry exterior with a minimum of fenestration, while all rooms open out onto the central courtard which offers respite from the heat - without the need of mechanical cooling systems. The central courtard as lined with a matrix of archways, which offer an interstial space between the habitable rooms and the courtard.