Architect Carlos Castanheira has completed a jagged building that is raised on stilts, to provide visitor accommodation for a winery in the Douro Valley, Portugal.
The project creates four guest apartments overlooking the Quinta da Faísca vineyard in Favaios, which is a hotspot for wine tourism in northern Portugal.
The project creates four guest apartments
Porto-based Castanheira designed an irregularly zigzagging roof profile that gives the building a distinctive shape.
The structure is supported by a framework of steel I-beams that allow it to project out from its site, offering guests a panoramic view of the agrarian landscape.
The building overlooks the surrounding vineyards
"We are suspended in the landscape, which has come in and has taken us out into the open," said Castanheira, who describes the design as "almost a leap". The project came about after Castanheira previously designed an extension to the Quinta da Faísca winery's main building, which was completed in 2013.
Steel I-beams support the building as it projects out from the landscape
The extension provided more facilities for welcoming tourists, so the next logical move was to create accomodation where visitors could spend the night.
As there was very little free space on the estate, the challenge was in finding the right location to site the building.

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