House of Four Houses is a cohesive residence formed out of four separate volumes

This beautiful holiday house in Portugal, inspired by the vernacular architecture of the region, has four simple volumes that create a myriad of playful, cohesive spaces.

Portuguese design studio PROD Arquitectura designed this development as a "house with four houses" with almost invisible borders between the structures.

The house, with volumes organized around a core, was built for a family of four in the north of Portugal. Four individual structures enter into a dialogue that create a cohesive whole in which space flows smoothly across borders and mobile partitions. The client required a design that would have a strong link to the surrounding landscape, which is why the architects envisioned a large deck terrace that becomes part of the living room when the glass floor-to-ceiling windows are moved.

The living quarters are distributed across three floors-the garage, wine storage and laundry room are located in the basement, the bedrooms occupy the east side of the ground floor, while the kitchen, dining room and living room are placed on the west and open up onto a terrace which boasts great views of the valley. The mezzanine over the living room houses a small office.