Casa Adpropeixe designed by Carlos Castanheira & Clara Bastai, Adpropeixe, which almost seems to be a name out of an Astérix book, is a part of the Gerês Natural Reserve, located in Vilar de Veiga, in the Terras do Bouro district. It’s just there, by the water, after passing the bridges and just before arriving at Gerês; the spa village.

It’s easier to access by boat than by road or cross-country. It is a unique place so the response to the commission also had to be unique and specific: a timber house.

The client, in love with Gerês, the reservoir, and the water, had been looking for a site to buy to hopefully build a house.

After a long search, the chance arose to buy a site, where a tennis court had been built prior to the establishment of the Natural Reserve. This construction was legally and properly authorized at the time.
The pre-existence of this tennis court, which covered an area of 800m2, now allowed under the current regulations for the building of a house of up to 200m2 on the site. To get there, one has to climb the hill, along a sinuous tarmacadamed road, always rising until, when nearly at the top one starts to go down and down a narrow dirt track alongside perilous drops and stunning views.

The vegetation is dense and rich, although the traces of a forest fire that occurred some years ago in the area are still apparent. The court, a concrete slab painted green with a few white lines, which had once been used for playing tennis, w...