Estoril RM House / João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos

Architects: João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos
Area: 631 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
Manufacturers: JUNG, CLIMAR, A.MOREIRA CADETE, CIN, New Terracotta, PADIMAT, SINAIS DO TEMPO, WALLTERNATIVE
Lead Architect: João Tiago Aguiar
Products Used in This Project: Light Switch – LS 990 by JUNG
Project Team: Susana Luis, Rúben Mateus, João Nery Morais, André Ferreira, Maria Sousa Otto, Diogo Romão, Samanta Cardoso Menezes, Nuno Sequeira, Constança Lino, Francisco Duarte, Renata Vieira
Landscape: Sofia Raimundo
Construction: Wallternative
Engineering: NEOGET
City: Estoril
Country: Portugal

Estoril RM House, redesigned by João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos in Estoril, Lisbon region, leverages its coastal location and vibrant surroundings. The expansion introduces a contemporary style, creating open and practical spaces. This two-story home now includes a pool, garage, porch, and various outbuildings—connected to the main structure through a new volume that allows direct garage access and adds usable space on both levels. Featuring a masonry cladding with a pattern inspired by traditional Portuguese tiles, this addition also provides shading with sliding phenolic panels. The interior layout maintains social spaces on the ground floor and private areas above, where updates include a new suite and living zone. Minimal exterior changes feature softened balcony railings and transformed French windows, while a custom telescopic pool cover in matching tile-inspired design allows year-round use, blending the original home with the new expansion.

Estoril rm house / joão tiago aguiar arquitectos

Situated in Estoril, one of the most cosmopolitan areas in the Lisbon region, the house enjoys close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the cultural and entertainment attractions that make Estoril so renowned.

The expansion, along with the overall intervention, achieves the desired contemporary style by emphasizing open, fluid, and highly functional spaces, encouraging fresh impressions and reinterpretations of the entire area.

The house includes two floors, a swimming pool, a garage, a porch, and several outbuildings, which feature a game room, a laundry, and additional storage rooms. Adding a new connecting volume between the garage and the main building allows direct entry from the garage and expands usable space on both floors, introducing an additional architectural narrative.

This new construction is accentuated by a cladding stereotomy with an embossed graphic pattern that envelops the masonry façade. The design, inspired by traditional Portuguese tiles, is also applied to sliding phenolic panel openings, providing both shading and security. Inside, the spatial organization was preserved, with private areas located on the upper floor and social areas on the ground floor. In addition, a small winter garden was created beneath the staircase, which connects the ground floor to the first floor and vice versa.

To enhance comfort and quality of living, all changes on the upper floor were designed with these principles in mind. A new suite and additional living area were created by removing a wall, with direct access provided from the naturally lit and ventilated corridor. Meanwhile, the closet and ensuite bathroom of an existing suite were repurposed to form a new bedroom, and a new master suite was added within the home’s expanded volume. Modifications to the elevations were minimal, except where necessary to accommodate the expansion. Other updates included aesthetic and functional cladding adjustments, replacement of balcony railings with a softer, more contemporary design, and converting windows into French windows.

A custom telescopic cover was designed for the swimming pool, enabling year-round use rather than just summer access. The cover features the same traditional Portuguese tile pattern as the new volume, creating a sense of balance and visual cohesion between the original house and the new additions.