As part of a house renovation project Delgada, Portugal, architecture studio Camarim were tasked to design a pergola with a swimming pool to the garden. The house, circled by a large lawn, couples materials and decorative elements of varied sources in search of a certain dignity and solidity.

We intuitively rejected any idea of dialogue with this house, but it would not be convenient for the pergola to be too far from it. We placed the pergola between the trees, parallel to the house, aligned with the front porch. The pool, following the pergola, hastens over hills cultivated with vines, apple trees, and pines to the south—leaving the neo-rustic world behind.

The pergola and pool form a massive, symmetrical, and repetitive ensemble that could be older than all the rest. The pergola builds a particular atmosphere, simultaneously domestic and permeable, robust and sensitive. The pool, clad in pink marble, unexpectedly cuts through the concrete and gives water an electric turquoise tone.

We sought light, shadows, close and distant context, to participate, as much as concrete and stone, in building this atmosphere.