Casa no Pomar — Nova Origem Arquitectos

Set on a plot marked by the exact geometry of an apple orchard and by the presence of an old agricultural ruin, Casa no Pomar grows out of the wish to build an architecture deeply rooted in the landscape.

Rather than impose a new order on the land, the project extends the logic already there. The siting follows the lines of the orchard, preserving the legibility of the agricultural pattern and holding a natural relationship between the house and the place.

The house sits entirely on a single storey, in one continuous volume that sets out the living and private areas clearly. Along the way through it, a sequence of courtyards brings in daylight, ventilation and places to stop and look, making the landscape part of the experience of living there. More than external elements, these voids structure how the house is organised and hold a permanent transition between inside and outside.

The living areas open onto the orchard and the natural setting, while the more private rooms find shelter and quiet in the courtyards. In this way the architecture balances openness against seclusion, letting light, planting and the rhythm of the seasons keep pace with daily life in the house.

With a restrained language and a low-lying form on the site, Casa no Pomar sets out to sit quietly in the landscape, reinforcing the identity of the place rather than competing with it. The project holds to a quiet architecture, one in which the land stops being simply the setting for the house and becomes part of the architecture itself.