ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Bureau des Mésarchitectures completes open-air 'Casa sem pele' in Portugal

architecture-design · 2026-07-04

Bureau des Mésarchitectures, led by Didier Fiúza Faustino, has finalized Casa sem pele (House with no skin), an open-air rural dwelling located in Ribatejo, Portugal. This innovative project reinterprets the concept of a house, transforming it into a lived experience rather than a confined space, promoting rest, sharing, and care. Designed as a physical manifesto, the house emphasizes simplicity and reimagines domestic life. Nestled among vineyards and dense foliage near a small lake, it challenges traditional notions of 'the house' by presenting a clear arrangement of everyday activities. Approaching via an ancient Roman road, Casa sem pele is revealed on a hillside vineyard beside a pond adorned with willows and bamboo, accessible by steps leading to a rectangular platform.

Key facts

  • Casa sem pele is an open-air rural shelter in Ribatejo, Portugal.
  • The project was completed by Didier Fiúza Faustino and his Paris–Lisbon practice Bureau des Mésarchitectures.
  • The house is conceived as a manifesto in built form, reduced to essentials.
  • It is set among vineyards, limestone ground, and dense vegetation around a small lake.
  • The approach is along an old Roman road.
  • The structure is located on a hillside vineyard, on the banks of a pond lined with willows and bamboo.
  • A few steps lead down from the path to a rectangular platform.
  • The project reframes the house as a lived field rather than a sealed object.

Entities

Artists

  • Didier Fiúza Faustino

Institutions

  • Bureau des Mésarchitectures

Locations

  • Ribatejo
  • Portugal
  • Paris
  • Lisbon

Sources