UNI / Mayer & Selders

Architects: Mayer & Selders
Area: 110 m²
Year: 2016
Manufacturers: Ezarri, Alunik, Atlantic Wood, BRUMA, Duarte Abreu, Revigres
Coordinator: Dirk Mayer
Structural Engineering: Luis Canha
Constructor: Tomas Canha
Author: Dirk Mayer
Design Team: Dirk Mayer, Susanne Selders, Elizabeth Nobrega
Municipality: Calheta
Country: Portugal

UNI, designed by Mayer & Selders, is located in Jardim do Mar, a village on Madeira Island’s southwest coast. The project, situated on a northwest-facing slope with stunning coastal views, involved creating two small studios on a small, L-shaped plot with terraces. The lower apartment is an open space with a kitchen and living area, showcasing the natural basalt stone wall in the bathroom. The upper apartment has a mezzanine bed and maximizes space with integrated furniture. A small pool and organic gardens with subtropical fruits and vegetables are available for guests.

Jardim do Mar is a small farming and fishing village at the foot of steep, 400-meter-high cliffs on the southwest coast of Madeira Island. The project is located on a northwest-facing slope, offering stunning views along the coast and to the neighboring village.

The agricultural landscape in this region, as well as across Madeira Island, is characterized by terraces supported by basalt stone walls constructed from loose rocks of various, sometimes very impressive, sizes. The project plot is small and L-shaped, incorporating two terraces with a height difference of approximately 3 meters. Access to the site was challenging; materials had to be carried 50 meters by hand, as larger machinery could not be brought in.

Given these constraints, maintaining the existing wall and the character of the rural landscape while minimizing impact and earth movement was both a formal choice and an economic necessity.

The task was to create two small studios. The lower apartment features an open space with a small kitchen, dining table, sitting area, and bed, almost entirely open to the bay view. The existing basalt stone wall at the back was left natural in the bathroom, showcasing large rocks with growing moss and succulents.

The upper apartment features a double ceiling height, with a stair leading up to the bed on the mezzanine. From there, the opening under the gabled roof provides the most dramatic view of the coast. The stairs, a small kitchen, a storage cupboard, and a table were blended into one piece of furniture to maximize the limited area on the main floor.

A small pool, composed of two circular sections, was added to a lower terrace acquired at a later stage. The gardens, featuring organic farming of subtropical fruits, culinary herbs, and vegetables, are available for guest use.