Becoming Alentejo is a small hotel set within the gentle landscapes of the Alentejo coast, between the Serra do Cercal, the Alentejo peneplain, and the Terras do Alto Sado. Is not only a place to stay, but a form of listening to the land and building with care, presence, and permanence.
The project is the result of a practice where architecture and landscape design work as one, a shared process rooted in ecology, typology, and material awareness.
The project is structured around two volumes: an existing rural house, preserved and adapted for support functions; and the new Casa Mãe, built in rammed earth over a semi-buried concrete base.
The material choices, local soil, wood, raw concrete, are reduced and essential, used in their most direct form. Surfaces are left exposed, textures are honest, and decoration is minimal. The result is a calm and silent architecture that absorbs the atmosphere of the landscape.
A central patio defines a new enclosed space that connects the two buildings and extends naturally into the surrounding landscape and the accommodation units. This intimate outdoor area becomes a flexible space for social gatherings, events, and moments of rest, fostering a strong relationship between architecture, nature, and community.
1 / 3Casa Mãe First Floor Plan
This is a dry and open territory, drawn by ravines, cork oak forests, and small reservoirs that mark the rhythm of seasonal water. The project responds to this landscape with an architecture of minimal gestures and a strong sense of place.
The foundation lies in a typological and material reading of the region, studied in the Inquérito à Arquitectura Popular Portuguesa. The traditional houses of the Grândola and Cercal slopes, compact, elongated, low, with gabled roofs and thick walls, serve as reference. Rather than replicating them, the design reinterprets their spatial intelligence and climatic resilience in a contemporary way.
Ten lightweight bungalows are dispersed across the site. Raised on timber structures and sheltered by canvas roofs, these glamping units are fully climate-controlled and contain a living space, kitchenette, bathroom, and bedroom. Their light construction and small footprint minimize the impact on the land, preserving the continuity of the terrain and vegetation, offering guests a closer connection to the cycles of nature.
1 / 2Bungalow Section AA'
Santiago do Cacém, Portugal | Private | Closed | Tourism | 1.049m2 | Renders by Start Studio | Model Photography by Bárbara Monteiro