Roof on a Ridge is a minimal house located in Cascais, Portugal, designed by Nuno Nascimento + Mattia Caccin. Empty of any character, the house was marked by successive changes over time, which made it uncharacteristic and deteriorated. At the external level, the proposal sought to take it to its most elementary level – the volumetry as an expression of its existence, neglected of any ornament – the white walls and the roof Portuguese tiles are the premises of an intervention that seeks to respect its volume, highlighting the cylindrical form that constitutes the interior circulation staircase, and the existing traditional chimneys.

At the interior level, the architects reorganized the layout adapting it to the needs of the daily life of the new family that will occupy the space, with a radical renovation of its finishes. In line with the exterior, the new materials appear in their most raw and elementary state, with the stone offering a new nobility to the interior of the house, contrasting with the warmth of the birch on the furniture and the oak on the floor. The staircase appears as the main character in the interior space, assuming its original sculptural aspect on a continuous white surface that embraces it in all its plans.

Photography by Francisco Nogueira