Silver Construction and Real Estate Projects Design · 2026
Condominio Cascais Residential Building
by David Bastos
- A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Construction and Real Estate Projects Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: DB Arquitetos
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 16,192
- Verification code 47CC445D22 · Verify this award
About Condominio Cascais Residential Building
Condominio Cascais is a residential development in the coastal region of Cascais, Portugal, designed by Brazilian architect David Bastos. Set on a sloping site overlooking the Atlantic, the villas are arranged in terraces to preserve open views toward the sea and the Farol da Guia. Each unit integrates private gardens and pools within natural stone and wood structures. The design connects architecture and landscape, emphasizing openness, privacy, and continuous contact with nature.
Within the evolving tradition of contemporary coastal residential architecture, David Bastos's Condominio Cascais Residential Building represents a thoughtful synthesis of regional building traditions and modernist spatial principles, captured here in a moment of exceptional atmospheric beauty as the setting sun transforms the complex into a luminous composition of warm interiors and cool marine horizons, the development demonstrates sophisticated understanding of site and context through its terraced configuration that follows the natural topography while maximizing ocean views for each residential unit, the architect appears to have drawn upon the rich heritage of Mediterranean building practices, employing locally resonant materials including natural stone that creates textural dialogue with historic structures visible in the surrounding neighborhood, while the extensive use of hardwood decking in warm amber tones suggests a commitment to tactile luxury and sensory richness that invites outdoor living, the technical accomplishment of the cantilevered pool structures deserves particular attention as these transparent aquamarine volumes seem to float above the roofscape, their still waters reflecting the gradient sky and creating moments of contemplative stillness within the dynamic architectural composition, the relationship between the historic lighthouse visible at mid-distance and the contemporary residential forms suggests a meaningful dialogue between maritime heritage and evolving coastal habitation, the warm interior illumination visible through extensive glazing activates each unit as an individual lantern within the larger constellation, suggesting the presence of domestic life and human warmth within the geometric order, viewers might contemplate how this development negotiates the enduring tension between privacy and prospect, between sheltering enclosure and expansive connection to the vast oceanic horizon that has drawn human settlement to coastal locations throughout history.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This luxury residential project in Cascais, Portugal, is situated on an inclined plot of land with all of the houses oriented to maximize views of the sea and the Farol Santa Marta. The project presents two types of layers: two-and-a-half-acre units with piscines in the area of the highest floors and three-and-a-half-acre units with piscines in the area closest to the sea. This approach maximizes each resident's perspective. Using brise-soleil and elevated points in an exuberant landscape, the architecture combines natural, wood and glass with contemporary design solutions.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The project consists of luxurious apartments with escalated typologies, such as units of two or three floors. The units in the upper slope of the land consist of two pavements with private pools. The units in the lower of the land consist of three pavements with private pools with an infinite border in the covered area and extensive wood terrain. The building incorporates energy-efficient systems, such as electrical isolation, integrated LED lighting, and water collection for irrigation, supporting deep paisagism All of the units are oriented along the shoreline for maximum exposure to the sea.
- Tags
- Luxury Residential, Condominium, Cascais, Portugal, Sea View, Farol da Guia, Modern Architecture, Biophilic Design, Indoor-Outdoor Living, Rooftop Pool, Private Garden, Elevated Walkways, Brise-Soleil, Contemporary Villas, Sloping Terrain.
- Production Technology
- The project's execution makes use of a contemporary concrete structure equipped for the volumes in the balancing of several avenues and subterranean storage. The facade combine high-quality natural materials, wood composts, and high-performance, low-emissivity video extensions. The solar protection characteristics are achieved by the use of brise-soleil metal that is manufactured under pressure or with perforated paints. Paisagism was designed to give residents privacy in layers supported by large wall of land containment and integrated drainage systems.
- Design Challenge
- The most challenging task was to simultaneously optimize views and privacy in each unit while successfully adjusting to the terrain's inclination, Since the idea was for all the houses to face the sea and see the Farol Santa Marta, building houses in rows was unfeasible. In order to prevent the lower homes from obstructing the upper homes' view and compromising their privacy, the solution was to create roads displaced for the construction of the houses and place the pools in different levels.
- Project Duration
- The project was conceived in November 2017 and completed in November 2021. The project is located in Cascais, Portugal, while the design work was completed in Salvador-BA, Brazil.
- Operation Flow
- The user interacts with the condominium as a highly private and integrated resort community. The residents enter through a controlled access point that leads to the subterranean establishment. From this point forward, the vertical access leads directly to the homes. The pedestrian flow is controlled by dedicated walkways and elevated, exclusive points that serve as platforms for circulation and observation, connecting units to common amenities like playgrounds, fogueiras, and natural gardens. The main interest is the perfect life both inside and outside, with large windows that open directly to private areas for land, gardens, and piscinas, all of which are enhanced by the expansive view of the sea
- Research
- Research focuses on maximizing the unique panoramic views of the area sea and Farol Santa Marta. while minimizing the effects of the inclined terrain and strong coastal sunlight. This led to the development of two different, but similar, types of houses and their strategic placement: the lower units gain altitude for the view through several avenues and the piscina in the cover, while the higher units maintain the connection with the sole. The local climate analysis informed the design of a brise-soleil system to control solar and ventilation, ensuring comfort in external spaces and with a video facade.
- Inspiration
- The design was primarily inspired by the resort's contemporary architecture and Biofílico design (connection with nature). It blends elements of tropical modernism, such as the use of open spaces, natural materials, and sun management through the use of telas and beaars, with the experience of life in the elevated passarelas. The idea is to create a quiet, solitary, and sophisticated environment.
- Image Credits
- Professional photographs from Fernando Guerra
Colors of Condominio Cascais Residential Building
Grand Interview about Condominio Cascais Residential Building
For me, design has never been about replicating shapes, but about capturing the atmosphere of a place. When we began designing the Cascais Condominium, the turning point was realizing that the Cascais summer and the desire for outdoor living spoke directly to our Brazilian essence.The 'rustic yet sophisticated' philosophy became the key to connecting these two worlds. The sophistication lies in the clean lines, the contemporary architecture, and the intelligent layout that keeps the surface free of cars to prioritize pedestrians. The rustic element—or rather, the warmth—comes from the meticulous selection of natural materials like stone and wood, which bring texture and warmth to the demanding Atlantic microclimate.We knew this tropical modernist language would work the exact moment we designed the transition from the indoor spaces to the private gardens and pools. We weren’t just importing Brazil to Portugal; we were celebrating Cascais’ contemporary coastal identity through our signature focus on well-being, unpretentious luxury, and a deep connection to the outdoors.
True biophilia is not about green decoration; it is about how architecture mediates the human relationship with the environment. To ensure that Cascais Condominium delivered a genuine, daily sensory experience, nature was treated as a structural layer of the project, rather than an afterthought.The most powerful spatial decision was the complete elimination of cars from the surface, moving all vehicular circulation underground. This allowed us to create a continuous ground-level ecosystem, where residents walk along elevated walkways that float over a lush, layered landscape. The transition into the homes happens without visual barriers: large glass panels slide entirely into the walls, directly merging the living areas with private gardens and pools.Materially, we utilized the tactile quality of raw local stone and slatted wood, which filter the intense Atlantic light and create a dynamic interplay of light and shadow throughout the day. The terraced gardens with layered plantings act as natural acoustic and visual filters, ensuring mutual privacy between units while connecting the resident's view to greenery and the sky upon waking up. Biophilic design here is experienced through the freely circulating breeze, the sound of water, and the texture of materials that will age gracefully against the coastal climate.
The steep topography of Cascais and the iconic views of the Atlantic and the Guia Lighthouse could not be treated as a privilege for only a few units; they were the right of the entire condominium. If we had reorganized the position of the villas in a conventional manner, we would have inevitably created an undesirable hierarchy, where the rear homes looked directly onto the roofs of the ones in front.The reasoning behind the offset circulation road strategy was to use the condominium's urban infrastructure as a transition and buffering element. By shifting the circulation axis to create this strategic clearance, we gained the necessary distance for the natural terracing of the land to work in our favor. The road acts as a physical and visual 'breather.'This structural decision resonated throughout the entire resident experience: it allowed us to design the terraces and roofs of the lower villas as true suspended backyards and continuous green planes, which complement the view from the upper villas rather than obstructing it. Furthermore, by aligning this strategy with the underground vehicle circulation, we ensured that this offset surface space remained purely pedestrian and landscaped. The result is that every resident, regardless of the terrain elevation their home sits on, enjoys the same sense of amplitude, absolute privacy, and uninterrupted connection to the Atlantic horizon.
Receiving the Silver A' Design Award in 2026 is an honor that validates our belief that true luxury is inseparable from environmental responsibility and deep well-being. The use of brise-soleil systems and high-performance, low-emissivity glass in the Cascais Condominium goes far beyond a technical response to the harsh Atlantic sunlight; it reflects our philosophical stance that architecture should be a dynamic filter between humans and nature, not a hermetic barrier.Philosophically, we believe that modern residential luxury must free the resident from artificial dependence. By designing the brises with treated wood, we created a protective shell that celebrates light rather than blocking it, generating an interplay of light and shadow that changes throughout the day and brings poetry to daily life. Combined with low-emissivity components, these systems drastically reduce the internal thermal load passively.This translates into long-term well-being: residents enjoy absolute thermal and acoustic comfort while maintaining a continuous visual connection to the Cascais horizon, without the need to live confined under constant air conditioning. Contributing responsibly to the natural context means designing buildings that age gracefully, consume fewer resources, and respect the local microclimate. The award recognizes that aesthetic sophistication and climate intelligence can—and must—walk hand in hand.
The most difficult decision was calibrating the exact transition between the condominium's two distinct typologies so that the spatial freedom of one would not violate the intimacy of the other. We had, on one hand, the desire for a radical openness toward the ocean and, on the other, the need for absolute isolation. The most critical point was the design of the private pools and gardens for the upper villas: under no circumstances could they serve as lookouts onto the terraces of the villas situated on the lower elevation.The solution was not to build heavy visual barriers, which would destroy the concept of tropical modernism, but rather to work with the topography and the millimeter-precise setback of the pool edges. We created water features and landscaped retaining walls that function as 'psychological infinite horizons.' Those above see only the sea and the treetops of the layer below; those below feel protected by a green canopy, without the sensation of being watched.This process permanently altered my understanding of isolation within shared coastal communities. I realized that genuine privacy in a coastal context is not achieved through confinement or high walls, but through the intelligent control of sightlines and the psychological distance provided by layered landscaping. I learned that true isolation is not about feeling cut off from the world, but about having the power to choose when to connect with the collective landscape and when to retreat into your own private sanctuary.
The material research for the Cascais Condominium was guided by the desire to achieve the visual lightness of tropical modernism while utilizing high-performance climate engineering. In Brazil, we are accustomed to large concrete cantilevers and abundant natural ventilation. However, the Portuguese Atlantic coast presents a much harsher environment in terms of salinity, strong winds, and thermal variation. The combination of structural concrete, high-density treated wood composites, and pressure-fabricated metallic brises emerged from the need to ensure the building would maintain its aesthetic and functional integrity for decades to come.Executing this on a steep coastal terrain revealed that the gap between design intent and construction reality in Europe is governed by millimeter precision. In Brazil, our construction culture handles artisanal, on-site craftsmanship exceptionally well. In Portugal, the reality is highly industrialized and modular. What we had not fully anticipated during the initial phase was the level of zero-tolerance required to integrate the automated perforated facade systems and the tracks for the recessed frames directly into the cantilevered concrete structures—all under the constant pressure of Cascais' winds. Every millimeter of concrete deflection required detailed dynamic calculations. This experience did not change our architectural intent, but it profoundly refined our engineering, proving that unpretentious rusticity only reaches perfection through absolute technical precision.
Circulation should never be a dead or purely logistical space; it is the fabric that connects community life. In the Cascais Condominium, the design of the elevated walkways was conceived to slow down the pace of daily life. By floating over the layered landscaping, these walkways compel residents to shift their relationship with time and their surroundings, transforming the simple act of moving from home to the common areas into a sensory stroll governed by sunlight, the Atlantic breeze, and the scent of the garden.Socially and emotionally, these walkways shaped an atmosphere of gentleness and unpretentious, casual encounters. They function as elevated linear plazas where neighbors cross paths without rushing, allowing the community to connect in a natural and organic way.Designing these transition spaces deepened my conviction that the voids—the spaces between destinations—are where the true magic of architecture happens. A well-designed house offers shelter, but it is the transition spaces that define how you feel while inhabiting it. By granting architectural dignity and contemplative beauty to these pathways, we proved that contemporary luxury lies in the quality of the journey, not just in the grandiosity of the final destination.
The greatest lesson that this four-year transatlantic journey taught me was that architectural integrity does not depend on the rigidity of a style, but on the adaptability of our listening. Designing in Salvador and executing in Cascais proved that tropical modernism and the 'rustic yet sophisticated' philosophy are not exportable aesthetic formulas, but rather a method of sensitivity that knows how to read the territory.The major shift in my approach today is understanding that site analysis must go far beyond topography, climate, or local building regulations; it must decode the material culture and the rhythm of life of that specific region. I learned to embrace local constraints as design catalysts rather than obstacles to creative ambition.Regarding client aspirations, I realized that in projects of this scale and geographic sensitivity, the architect's role is to align the desire for global exclusivity with respect for local identity. Today, when starting any international project, I no longer seek to impose our Brazilian language, but rather to discover how our expertise in creating open, bright spaces integrated with nature can authentically and responsibly enrich the soil and the lifestyle of the host country. Cascais taught us that truly global architecture is that which knows how to be deeply local.
The Cascais Condominium demonstrates that luxury residential architecture does not have to—and should not—be a burden on sensitive coastal ecosystems. Historically, the high-end real estate market has tended to prioritize visual opulence over passive efficiency, often masking waste under the guise of privilege. What this project proves is that authentic luxury lies in harmony, not in dominance over nature.The integration of rainwater harvesting for irrigation, low-impact LED lighting, and advanced insulation was not treated as a technical add-on, but as an extension of the landscaping and architecture itself. In fragile coastal zones like the Atlantic, ecological continuity must be preserved. By utilizing deep, layered native plantings, we reduced water resource demands and created a natural microclimate that decreases the reliance on artificial climate control.The project demonstrates to the construction industry that environmental responsibility and high-end living are perfectly compatible when sustainability is treated as a conceptual premise rather than a marketing ploy. Luxury is not about consuming more resources, but about living more intelligently, enjoying maximum well-being with the smallest possible footprint. The real estate market needs to understand that preserving the surroundings is exactly what secures the development's value over the long term.
The principle most deeply rooted in the Cascais Condominium—and the one I consider most transferable to any challenging context worldwide—is the dissolution of physical boundaries in favor of landscaped transition. This means moving away from designing a building as an isolated object placed into nature, and instead designing it as an inherent part of the ecosystem itself.In complex or ecologically sensitive coastal terrains, architecture should never attempt to dominate the topography through massive earthworks or brutal retaining walls. The secret lies in utilizing natural terracing and layered landscaping as structural tools to generate privacy, thermal comfort, and spatial dynamism. Authentic contemporary luxury manifests in the invisible: in the silence, the freely circulating breeze, the precise framing of the view, and the feeling of being simultaneously sheltered and free.My hope is that this principle inspires the next generation of architects to reject empty extravagance and formal exhibitionism. I hope they understand that a lasting commitment to nature and human happiness stems from an absolute respect for the site. The architecture of the future does not need to shout to be luxurious; it needs to listen to the ground, embrace the climate, and design spaces that allow human beings to slow down and contemplate. It is within the subtle balance between constructed shelter and the freedom of nature that true sophistication resides.