Bernardes Arquitetura’s Casa Tejo “gazes entirely towards the sea”

By Jon Astbury

A panoramic first floor elevated on steel columns creates a “lookout point” surveying the ocean at this villa in Portugal, designed by Brazilian firm Bernardes Arquitetura.

Named Casa Tejo and completed in 2023, the 835-square-metre home in Oeiras sits along the Avenida Marginal, overlooking where the mouth of the River Tagus empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Responding to both these views and the site’s topography, Bernardes Architecture partially nestled the home’s low-lying upper level into the landscape, from which it extends towards the sea views above a large open terrace for gatherings.

“As a result of the landscape in which it is located and the features of the land – a steep slope – Casa Tejo is a lookout point and gazes entirely towards the sea,” said the studio.

“From the beginning, we sought to integrate the residence into the local natural landscape, emphasising the unique views and blending the interior and exterior,” it added.

The site’s slope allowed for the creation of a partially subterranean access level at the base of the home, which is flanked by a chunky stone wall running along the back of the plot and a curved concrete wall providing access to a garage.

Aligned with the stone “axis” wall of the home is the triangular form of its upper levels, designed to create two panoramic glazed elevations for the bedrooms that are oriented towards the sea and open onto sheltered balconies.

Where this upper level meets a higher area of the site at the rear, an area of paving and planting is overlooked by large windows, and a staircase leads up to a rooftop terrace.

Away from its edges, a large triangular light well at the centre of the home helps to pull light deeper into the plan, where its internal living spaces spill out onto an expansive terrace.

“A main stone axis runs through the site from end to end, defining the vertical circulation and internal spaces, which are connected to the garden by large glass frames,” explained the studio.

“Next to this axis, a triangular opening lets in natural light and visually connects this level to the upper floor. On the top floor, the private areas are sheltered, creating privacy and extending the view to the horizon,” it added.

Sheltered by the bedroom level above, the external terrace contains two seating areas accompanied by a suspended fireplace and a shallow pool, overlooking the garden and the sea beyond.

Throughout the home, spaces sit beneath ceilings lined with narrow timber planks, with the exposed, pale stonework of the rear wall forming a consistent backdrop throughout the living areas.

These timber ceilings are carried through to the bedrooms, where they are accompanied by a simpler palette of white walls and dark timber flooring.

“The concise choice of natural materials such as stone, wood, fabrics and a palette of warm tones brings lightness and cosiness to the project,” said the studio.