Perched on a dramatic promontory above the cliffs of Azóia, the AIP Azóia Villa house in Portugal features a design by João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos. The project is grounded in the idea of a “non-assertive architecture”, where each gesture seeks the essential: matter, light, and the relationship to place. An architecture that is silent yet rigorous—one that steps back to reveal the sea, the sky, and the cliff.
According to the architects, the work has a desire for an architecture that fades, allowing the place itself to emerge. The house dissolves into the topography, merging with the horizon and resonating with the scale of the site.
The original construction—comprising a windmill and three interlinked volumes of distinct geometries—presented complex intersections and a roof of singular inclinations, calling for a refined yet precise reinterpretation of space.
The formerly isolated kitchen was integrated into the social areas, becoming part of daily life and enhancing the connection with the ocean. On the upper level, three small bedrooms were reconfigured into two generous suites, privileging comfort, light, and landscape.
The façades were redesigned in search of a new formal balance and enhanced visual relationships with the surroundings. The most transformative gesture took place in the central volume, now replaced by a glazed body built with highly reflective glass. This material choice enabled a quiet presence—mirroring the landscape and rendering the architecture almost invisible.
On the ground floor, the façades were clad in handmade tiles—both two-dimensional and three-dimensional—designed by artist and ceramicist MAVC.
The rhythmic application of the three-dimensional pieces evokes the movement of the ocean, while the aqua blue-green tones establish chromatic continuity with the sea and surrounding vegetation.
This principle extends to the swimming pool, where architecture dissolves into the matter of the place. The roof and upper façades were coated with pigmented lime in the colour of the local Cabo stone, reinforcing a tectonic continuity between the house and the ground, between the built and the natural.
Inside, a curated selection of noble materials defines the project. Azul Macaúbas—a rare and expressive stone—serves as the project’s guiding element. The former multi-purpose room was reimagined through soft pink tones drawn from Cabo stone, in dialogue with custom-designed carpentry and hydraulic tiles, creating a subtle harmony of textures.
The project is grounded in the idea of a “non-assertive architecture”, where each gesture seeks the essential: matter, light, and the relationship to place. An architecture that is silent yet rigorous—one that steps back to reveal the sea, the sky, and the cliff. An architecture that does not impose itself, but endures.
