Portuguese architect Filipe Saraiva designs Casinha da Melroeira, an extension of his domestic universe

In Ourém, within the same landscape where Portuguese architect Filipe Saraiva designed his own home, a second, quieter and more contained house appears: Casinha da Melroeira. Located on the plot adjacent to Casa da Melroeira, the architect’s residence, this small dwelling stands on the footprint of a ruin that had long been part of his daily environment. It is therefore an exercise in continuity rather than implantation. The house is born from an inhabited memory.

Both houses share the same formal structure: a pentagonal volume. Yet far from being a literal repetition, the Casinha adopts a different scale and relationship with its context. If the main house functions as a manifesto, this second dwelling acts as a variation: a more compact architecture, adjusted to the size of the plot and the pre-existing condition of the site.

The starting point of the project was the symbolic space surrounding the ruin. In front of the former structure lay a threshing floor —the traditional agricultural working ground— that once defined the bond between house and landscape. This lost centre becomes the key to the new project: the dwelling is organised around that reference, orienting the main rooms towards it. Bedrooms and living spaces look towards this core, transforming a historical void into a new spatial anchor.

The volumetry respects the limits of the pre-existing structure. Rather than expanding outward, the project operates through subtraction. Voids carved into the mass generate patios and intermediate outdoor spaces that extend interior use without increasing the built footprint. These incisions do not follow orthogonal logics; their orientation responds to the search for different entries of natural light. As a result, the house is experienced through atmospheric variations throughout the day. Some openings, particularly on the upper floor, align with distant views towards the Castle of Ourém, introducing a subtle dialogue with the territory.

The absence of a final client shapes the project’s approach. Instead of responding to a fixed programme, the house becomes an object of domestic research. The challenge lies in preserving the presence of the construction within its context while exploring how family life can unfold within a compact space without sacrificing spatial quality. The double-height main room, taking advantage of the pentagonal section, introduces a sense of openness that contrasts with more intimate areas. The house unfolds as a sequence of gradations: openness and retreat, continuity and refuge.

Inside, materiality and objects reinforce this domestic narrative. The house incorporates pieces sourced from antique shops, natural elements used as everyday objects, and handcrafted elements made by the architect himself. Some act as discreet references to the place: the blackbird figure at the entrance recalls the name Melroeira (blackbird in Portuguese), linked to the presence of these birds in the area. Paintings, handmade light fixtures, and repurposed objects coexist with simple furniture and second-hand pieces, creating an atmosphere that avoids scenography.

This balance between memory and experimentation also informs the technical decisions. The project operates as a testing ground, from the exterior metalwork details —mailbox, gargoyles, chimney, or firewood storage— to constructive solutions that seek continuity between roof and façade. The house is conceived as an exercise in precision: reducing elements, simplifying junctions, and preserving the legibility of the volume.

Ultimately, Casinha da Melroeira is defined more by its conceptual density than by its size. It is an architecture rooted in proximity: the memory of a ruin, the repetition of a familiar form, the reinterpretation of a vanished agricultural space. A house that extends the architect’s own domestic universe and explores how memory can be translated into inhabitable space, without grand gestures. A small house, yet deeply grounded.

Project: Casinha da Melroeira.
Location: Melroeira, Ourém (Portugal).
Area: 116 m².
Completed: 2024.
Architecture and Interior design: Filipe Saraiva – Arquitectos.
Lead architect: Filipe Saraiva.
Collaborators: Samuel Silva, Jéssica Casalinho.
Contractor: L&L.
Engineering: Sílvia Vieira, Carla Coutinho.
Lighting design: Carla Coutinho.
Photography: Ivo Tavares Studio.
Source: Ivo Tavares Studio.

Filipe Saraiva

Filipe Saraiva (France, 1972) belongs to a generation of Portuguese architects whose careers have been shaped by sustained practice, accumulated learning, and a direct relationship with place. Born in France, he moved to Portugal in 1977, where he trained and developed his professional path. Between 1988 and 1991 he studied Art and Design at Domingos Sequeira Secondary School in Leiria, a creative foundation that preceded his architectural education. He began his architecture studies at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (1991–1996) and completed them at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Lisbon in 1998.

His early years are defined by a hybrid practice, common among many Portuguese architects of his generation. Between 1990 and 2001 he collaborated with several studios while developing his own projects as an independent professional. This period allowed him to explore different scales and typologies, from competitions to private commissions, consolidating an approach that combines constructive pragmatism with attention to the user. In 2001 he founded his own studio, Filipe Saraiva – Arquitectos, from which he coordinates a multidisciplinary team and establishes a stable working structure open to external collaborations.

Throughout his career, Saraiva has developed projects of diverse nature, with a strong presence of public facilities, single-family housing, and religious architecture. Among his early works, the Church of São Sebastião in Ourém (2003) stands out, introducing some constants of his later work: volumetric clarity, economy of means, and a direct relationship with the built environment. In parallel, he has participated in competitions and experimental projects, such as the Efficient House promoted by National Geographic Channel and EDP (2008–2010), as well as proposals recognised in international contexts, including his finalist position at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale (2010).

Institutional recognition consolidated in the following decade with awards in public competitions —such as the School of Hospitality and Tourism in Fátima or the Coruche Multiuse Centre— and distinctions in the residential field. His work in single-family housing, particularly attentive to domestic scale and everyday experience, has been repeatedly awarded in Portuguese and international forums. Casa em Melroeira, for instance, was featured in international publications on contemporary architecture, while other recent projects have received recognition in specialised awards.

Within his body of work, a singular place is occupied by the house he designed for himself and his family in Ourém, a project that operates as a built manifesto. Here he explores an essential architecture in which the compact form and interior organisation respond to criteria of efficiency, functional clarity, and resource control. The project clearly summarises his approach: an architecture that seeks precision in decisions and coherence between idea, construction, and use, beyond iconic gestures.

With more than two decades of independent practice, Filipe Saraiva has consolidated a studio operating from Portugal with an international outlook, maintaining a consistent line of work focused on contemporary housing and medium-scale public programmes. His architecture occupies an intermediate territory between the Portuguese rational tradition and a contemporary sensibility that prioritises functionality, formal clarity, and a direct relationship with those who inhabit the spaces. A sustained, discreet, and rigorous practice that finds in each project an opportunity to refine the relationship between form, place, and everyday life.

Project by Filipe Saraiva