Living in style

The Morgado Lusitano apartment complex is located in a large green area in the upper district of Póvoa de Santa Iria, a town about ten kilometres from Lisbon. An outstanding example of landscape architecture, it features gardens, two swimming pools, large equipped spaces for children, charming walkways and open spaces in a totally secure environment.
Designed by the practice Tetractys Arquitectos and finished by the interior design firm Casa do Passadiço, the complex consists of a total of forty medium and large apartments, complemented by large verandas and terraces. The complex fits gracefully into the landscape, maintaining a strong personality while adapting to the context. «Architecture transforms space, and its primary substance is the environment,» explains architect Antònio Barreiras Ferreira, one of the partners of Tetractys. «The result may or may not be facilitated by the natural conditions, which lie outside the scope of our work… in the same way the work of an architect may help to re-establish or maintain a sense of balance, or it may cause more or less irreparable damage. In our forty years of activity we have always focused on the physical characteristics of places, on the natural climatic conditions, on ventilation, lighting and acoustics, following the ever topical teachings of Vitruvius, the great Roman architect from the first century BC.»
These solid design principles were naturally combined with the most advanced home technologies, from solar panels to integrated domotic systems.
No less care was devoted to the interior design, which maintains a sober but very striking style: «We sought to create elegant and comfortable spaces by developing a project based on natural, timeless quality, which in our philosophy is synonymous with real elegance,» commented the designer from Casa do Passadiço. «We were careful to choose high-quality design items and materials so that everything would express a sense of balance and measure.»
Typical examples of this purity of style are the bathroom and kitchen spaces, both of which feature neutral tones of white, black and grey. A particularly interesting choice was the floor and wall coverings, consisting of porcelain tiles from the Less series by Floor Gres and the Pietre Lucide series by Cerim, a choice dictated by purity, rationality and high aesthetic impact. The tiles of various sizes, chosen in the non-colours black and white and with different surface finishes (natural, rice paper and ribbed), combined convincingly to give the interiors a sense of subtle sophistication.
Completed at the end of 2010 following a total investment of 14 million euro, Morgado Lusitano was a finalist in the Portuguese national award Óscares do Imobiliário 2011.