Ahead of the curve

When architect Vasco Vieira was approached to create a no-holds-barred super villa in Portugal’s Quinta do Lago in 2011, he was fascinated by the brief. “The client was very clear that he didn’t want a conventionally modern house,” Vieira says. “His vision of modern was something with very straight lines, very rectilinear, very minimalist. He asked me to create a home that was the opposite – with zero straight lines in it.” 

The result is this palatial 15,000 sq ft villa set across three floors, which houses just about every lifestyle perk you could wish for. There are six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a beautiful swimming pool and sunken bar, wine cellar, cinema, games room, sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi, multiple terraces, and a fire pit to enjoy evenings under the stars with friends or family. All wrapped up in the house’s extraordinary sweeping curves.

“In terms of design language, it’s very unusual,” Vieira continues. “The house has a warmer feel than many of the properties in the area. We used materials like exposed concrete, copper and timber that give the property more warmth and texture than a lot of plain white conventional villas.”  

Look at any part of the property, from any angle, and it feels distinctly contemporary and yet somehow traditional at once. If a 20th century Cubist artist was to sculpt a house, it might well look like this. “Especially if you look at the plans, or consider the house’s different dimensions – it’s almost like looking at a painting with the lines and the way they interact,” Vieira says.

Statement design features abound, from the floating fireplace in the living space, to the way that certain full-height windows sink seamlessly into the floor to allow cool air to breeze in off the sea, which the house overlooks. Water trickles from the first floor ornamental pool down into the swimming pool, and wine in the cellar is stored in a striking concrete wall, as though it’s an abstract art installation.  

Moreover, Vieira and his team designed almost everything that went into the house – from the windows to the headboards on the beds – especially for it, so this villa is as bespoke as can be.

“Every element was designed expressly for the house,” he explains. “Even things like the jacuzzi and the baths. We designed pieces that were then built on-site.” This also applies to the remarkable curved glass window that wraps around the front of the first floor. “We had to make huge metal moulds for that window, send them to the glass factory, get it produced and then put it together on site.”  

“The client loved our initial hand sketches, so it was a very smooth design process,” Vieira adds. “Ultimately, that always creates the best outcome. I’m very proud of this project. It’s totally different to anything else we’ve created.”

See more of Vasco Vieira’s work at vascovieira.com, or contact alex.kdeg@knightfrank.com to explore our properties for sale in the Algarve.