Contemporary meets traditional at Villa Extramuros

While visiting the castle of Arraiolos, I notice a somehow distant white building. It's Villa Extramuros, designed by Voar Arquitectura, on the outskirts of Arraiolos, a village in Alentejo, Portugal.

I drive through a dirt road and, after a while, I reach an olive grove through which I can see a two-floor contemporary building with cork-lined walls and ceilings that bolster the volume of the white walls.

“The architecture of the Villa, inspired by Roman camps as well as by medieval convents […] pays homage to the characteristic materials of Alentejo: white marble stone, white-washed walls and cork”, as mentioned in their webpage.

I am welcomed by one the owners, a Parisian man that has settled in Alentejo, that guides me through the common areas: a patio that, as with medieval cloisters, joins the areas that surround it; a dinning area; a lounging area; and five rooms that are located in the upper floor (and which I could not visit seeing they were occupied). In the exterior, one can easily be enthralled by the tranquility of the olive grove and the infinity swimming pool overlooking the Castle of Arraiolos.

The strategy used in the decoration is also very interesting, as it combines design from the 50s to today, with local crafts.

Ana