The quaint, three-lobed shape of the trefoil plant is reimagined in this distinctive two-storey concrete home located south of Lisbon, in an area that profits from abundant amount of sunshine and ocean breeze all year long.
In designing Casa Trevo (Trefoil House), Olivier Ottevaere and Elsa Caetano of Double (O) Studio set out to include a maximum amount of outdoor space into the home’s footprint. A floorpan of three circular patios alternate with the home’s triangular-shaped indoor spaces, providing each room with a connection to the outdoors. The patio’s semi-open columns support a series of multi-level floor slabs which lead to and hold up the amazing rooftop lap pool.
Possessing a sense of autonomy and monumentality, the dwelling subverts the perception of its scale while creating a dialogue between nature and architecture. “It exudes a solid impression of mass while revealing little of its inside,” the studio says. “The house produces its own introverted world facing the sun, with private yet mutable spaces rendered intermittently by Lisbon’s brash light.”
Visit the studio’s website for more of their projects, and see our past features of architecture in Portugal.
Photography © Fabio Cunha, Marco Antunes for Double (O)