corpo atelier scatters pink limestone across a portuguese villa’s traditional, all-white exterior

‘cut ceilings and dyslexic ornaments’ by corpo atelier 

In a quiet street of Faro, Portgual, local practice Corpo Atelier has restored and refurbished a traditional two-story white villa — interrupting its spaces and surfaces with colorful ‘cuts’ that recall the dwelling’s ruin-like quality. Each indoor and outdoor cut displays a natural material that gently contrasts the all-white backdrop. The architects completed the project in 2002, wittily titling it ‘cut ceilings and dyslexic ornaments’ — a clear nod to their simple yet impactful approach to residential restoration. 

creating design accents and focal points

Inside, the Corpo Atelier team purposefully kept two types of white ceilings incomplete on both floors, revealing the wooden beams that support the first floor and roofing structure. Through such interventions, the architects successfully defined clear spatial centers for the social and bedroom areas. The first incomplete ‘spot’ in the living room takes on the shape of a cross while the second appears as a circle; at closer look though, the first floor ‘cut’ could very well evoke the shape of leaf with its series of beam alluding to individual ‘veins’.

Outside, pieces of pink limestone are scattered along three of the four white façades of the house, randomly highlighting specific architectural features: corners, edges, friezes, window frames, and the entrance door. While seemingly refreshed and punctuated by modern touches, the villa still exudes a rustic ambiance unique to Faro. 

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project info:

name: Cut ceilings and dyslexic ornaments 

location: Faro, Portugal

year: 2022 

architecture: Corpo Atelier | @corpo_atelier 

team: Filipe Paixão, Susana Café, Laura Correia, Laura Bação, Diogo Silva, Rui Oliveira

photography: Frederico Martinho | @fredericomartinho