Welcome to my DOM: Casa Kaan
There is a particular quality to the Algarve landscape. The southern Portuguese coast is marked by limestone cliffs, low vegetation and a strong elemental connection. It is within this landscape that Casa Kaan sits: a four-bedroom house designed by award-winning Portuguese architect Pedro Domingos, where concrete, marble and glass frame a deliberately close relationship with the outdoors.
Set within a 2,000m² landscaped plot, the house has a distinctly brutalist character. Exposed grey concrete forms the structural language and, rather than introducing a decorative palette, the architecture relies on the impact of the materials, letting changing light, views, and the surrounding landscape provide the visual interest.
The house is arranged across two floors, with the main living spaces occupying the upper level. Here, the layout is generous and open, bringing together the kitchen, living areas and two dining spaces. An expansive skylight above the kitchen draws daylight into the centre of the house, while an open-air courtyard provides a constant connection to the landscape. The same approach continues downstairs, where three further bedrooms each open onto their own private patio.
It is a house designed to be lived in as much outside as in. The infinity pool is perhaps the centre of the home, creating an uninterrupted view towards the Algarve. There is something incredibly captivating about the contrast between the weight of the architecture and the openness of the nature around it. Concrete gives Casa Kaan its solidity, while all other elements, the courtyards, patios, glazing and pool, draw the landscape back into the house.
The choice of materiality is restrained, yet effective. Grey concrete and white marble are set against steel-framed windows, with the openings bringing a softer element to the otherwise monolithic structure. Its spaces are organised around the pleasures of looking, swimming, eating and spending time outdoors, with the architecture providing a considered backdrop to each.
Beyond the home’s walls, the Algarve offers a landscape that rewards exploration. The southern coast is scattered with sandy beaches and limestone formations, while the wider region is known for its golf courses, restaurants, cycling routes and boat trips. Yet Casa Kaan offers a compelling reason to stay close to home.
For DOMstay, it is this relationship between architecture and experience that makes Casa Kaan particularly interesting. It is not simply a house set within the Algarve landscape, but one that makes that view of the landscape an integral part of the way it is inhabited. Concrete, water and sky come together to create a retreat that is both strongly architectural and remarkably unique in its experience. Be sure to check out Casa Kaan in our DOMfriends collection and book your stay as soon as possible, before dates run out.
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