Carra House by Mario Martins Studio in Praia da Luz, Portugal

Project: Carra House
Architects: Mario Martins Studio
Location: Praia da Luz, Portugal
Area: 4,305 sq ft
Photography: Fernando Gerra | FG+SG

Carra House by Mario Martins Studio

The Carra House is a luxurious villa located on the coast of Praia da Luz in Portugal. This modern home spans two levels, creating 4300 square feet of minimalist contemporary living spaces with stunning coastal views. On the other side, the house opens up to a landscaped backyard with walls providing privacy. The Carra House was designed by Mario Martins Studio—a studio you will definitely remember from our review of their amazing modern residential projects: Escarpa Villa, Colunata House, Zauiya House and Malaka House.

The Carra House has a less obvious sculptural character present in both the Colunata House and Elliptical House, where curved dynamic forms are processed as volume carved from a raw block and enlivened. In the Carra House, more angular and elongated forms are carved from a parallelepiped where full and empty spaces exist as living zones without losing their origin. It should be noted that the terrace, more than thirty meters long, functions as a decoration or peak—but at the same time serves as a horizontal finishing element of the architectural ensemble.

Elements inherited from architectural history, simultaneously supporting, giving meaning, scale and elegance to any project. The terrace is therefore a conceptually reinterpreted idea in an intentionally dry and simple language to show its clarity and proportions. As an integral part of the house, the terrace also functions as a frame for particularly privileged areas, provides shade and establishes physical relationships between rooms oriented towards the south and facing the sea, where the living room and kitchen exist in one open space organized by function and subtly defined.

The floating pool is part of this sculptural volume, intensely white interwoven with the authenticity of marble and its irregular patterns which seem to indicate a path toward entry and mark access zones. And only with the purity of white and natural stone was this diverse house designed. With full and empty spaces, weight and lightness, light and shadow, where inside and outside meet in pleasant angles, protected or deliberately exposed to enjoy this place and horizon, so distant yet as simple and linear as the design of this house.

–Mario Martins Studio