Located in Casal de S. Brás, a small community outside the historic town of Ansião in central Portugal, Casa Chouso was designed by local practice Bruno Dias Arquitectura in dialogue with the natural landscape – nestled between the Nabão River and the Serra de Sicó massifs, the area’s rolling hills are covered in olive groves, holm oaks and grazing pastures. Thoroughly modern in architecture and minimalist in aesthetic, the family house is nevertheless in tune with the rural setting thanks to its low-slung, smoothed-out volume that makes it look like a rocky outcrop, as well as its layout that channels the site’s agricultural past while also ensuring privacy from the nearby road and uninterrupted views of the scenic surroundings.

The house consists of two rectilinear concrete volumes, one housing the living quarters, the other the garage, and a courtyard in-between. The three zones come together under an L-shaped flat roof whose board-form concrete texture and rounded corners imbues the building with a sculptural sensibility. Mirroring the roof’s shape, a concrete podium further amplifies the building’s streamlined profile. The house’s clearly delineated layout encapsulates the architects’ brand of contemporary minimalism, as well as give the project its name – “chouso” meaning a fenced or closed area that shepherds once used as holding area for their flocks.