Modern vacation home is built into the hillside

We’ve seen houses with facades that mirror their surroundings and apartment buildings that aim to blend with the landscape. But this house in Alentjo, Portugal, is actually built into the land that surrounds it.

Photo by Richard John Seymour via Designboom

Lisbon architecture studio Atelier Data nestled the Cercal House into the side of a small hill in Portugal’s countryside. The bright white vacation home is half exposed, half buried, creating a very cool vantage point from both inside and outside.

Photo by Richard John Seymour via Designboom

At nearly 2,700 square feet, the house is large enough to house a family of ten but has a minimal footprint on the surrounding land thanks to its sunken position. The interior echo the exterior with white walls, white floors, and just the occasional splash of color.

Photo by Richard John Seymour via Designboom

Photo by Richard John Seymour via Designboom

The architects took advantage of its unusual orientation by separating the patio and living room with sliding windows and doors that disappear completely into the walls. It’s a choose your own alfresco lounge scenario: Sitting on the couch creates a perfect frame for the landscape. Walk a few steps though, and you’ll be in the home’s infinity pool, where the view is somehow even better.

Photo by Richard John Seymour via Designboom

Via: Designboom