The sheer concrete facades of Estrela House stand out amongst the slightly ramshackle homes that surround it, on a suburban street in the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Adding to the non-tradition, local architects Aires Mateus included a rooftop pool – surely an envy-inducing feature for neighbours over those hot European summers.

Portugal‘s architecture has been influenced by various stages of colonization and trade, with Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, and Neoclassical styles peppered throughout the city and evident across the ornate facades on either side of Estrela House. Aires Mateus decided to bolster a new wave of contemporary design with this pared back, minimalist framework, built for a multi-generational family.

The house spans across three levels, allowing for parents and three adult children to have their space, and also come together as a family unit when they want to. The concrete walls remain exposed internally, their potential harshness offset by warm timber panelling, curved facades, and cream tiles.

Full height windows on both the street facing and rear facades create transparency from one side of the house to the other. The garden is flush with the living room, with sliding glass doors opening directly outside. The master bedroom opens on to a double height space that frames views to the garden.

The sculptural rooftop follows the basin curve of the pool, which looks out toward the beautiful 18th Century Estrela Basilica on one side, and a river to the other. The pool compresses a bowl shape into the living room ceiling, defining the composition of the space. The half-moon cut out in the concrete adds a quirky, playful nuance to the home’s otherwise structured, linear form.

[Images courtesy of Aires Mateus. Photography by João Guimarães & Francesco Martello.]