Dune House by Pereira Miguel Arquitectos

Pereira Miguel Arquitectos is a multi-disciplinary architecture and interiors firm, commercial and residential that works with various collaborators in Portugal and around the world. The seamless conversation between nature and house, surroundings and building is a theme visible in many of the firm’s projects but none as distinctively as in the Dune House.



At first sight the house feels like a shelter that sits in its surroundings as if it had always been there, but looking completely fresh, cool, new and spectacular. The undulating shape echoes the gently sloping sand dunes, and its hard and angular surface planes contrast beautifully with the rounded shapes of the surrounding trees.



Pereira Miguel Arquitectos designed this beautifully integrated house located in Comporta, Portugal. Completed in late 2008, Casa Monte na Comporta in Grândola is, not surprisingly, drawing attention. It will be featured on Portuguese cable television this month and it will most likely be popping up in many design and architecture magazines in the coming months. That someone (other than me) is lucky enough to live in this house is almost too much to bear.



Although it seems that the house was built into the existing dunes, the exact opposite happened. They built the dunes so that they could situate the house under them. From each section, the view and feel are different from the others. With the constant action of the forces of nature, the view will also shift year by year, season by season, inviting contemplation and creating harmony.



The Dune House has a bunker-like feel but it really does not look like a bomb-shelter because the exterior is broken into smaller sections with varying materials. The sky, the trees and the water in the pool provide all the color. Tactile texture is everywhere, inside and out. Light and shadow become the main players. The entire dwelling exudes organic calm

Photos by FG+SG