Modular resort cabins in Portugal | Rebelo de Andrade and Aguiar

March 9, 2013

This cluster of small cabins is located at a new resort, the Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park, in northern Portugal. Pedras Salgadas is a spa town where people go to rejuvinate in its mineral waters.

The resort wanted a variety of different cabin layouts to suit the individual sites on which they’d be placed, so architects Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Diogo Aguiar designed the cabins using a modular system. Each cabin consists of three parts, a living area module, an entry module that also houses the bathroom, and a sleeping module with a bedroom and flex space.

The living and sleeping modules can join to the entry module in a variety of ways. The result is a system that is standardized yet flexible, yielding dozens of possible floor plans. Each cabin is adapted to its specific setting, adjusted to fit between the existing trees.

The cabins are clad with bluish-gray slate tiles that complement the greens, grays and browns of the forest. The slate is used on all the walls except at the decks where horizontal wood is used instead.

The cabin plans are all different but each has 52.9 m² (570 ft²) of living space. The bathroom is fairly small but the glass shower enclosure and wall-hung toilet and counter make it appear larger than it is. A compact kitchen runs along one wall of the living area module, while the rest of the space is a sitting area. The sleeping module has one bedroom and a flex space that is open to the entry hall. The flex space is large enough that it could be closed off as a small second bedroom if desired.

All three major rooms feature large corner windows, helping the expand the sense of interior space while providing select views of the surrounding forest. Wood is used on the floors and in the kitchen area, but everything else is white. It is a personal preference of course, but we think a bit more wood finish would suit the forest setting.