double-decker" swimming pool; a holiday home shaped like a snake; and a house with its own sand dunes are among the properties visited by architect Piers Taylor and actress turned property developer Caroline Quentin.
They head to the Iberian country in the second series of BBC Two’s The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes and discover a wealth of breathtaking design.
THE WALL HOUSE
The "double-decker" swimming pool at the Wall House (BBC/Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Ricardo Oliveira Alves)
A “double-decker” swimming pool, formed from two pools built one on top of the other is the stand out feature at the first home the duo visit.
Taylor describes the house as being “very tactile, very beautiful and very grand” and it was designed by Guedes Cruz Architects who used light and water to create the unique look and feel.
A fully automated house whose walls move at the touch of a button thanks to a counterweight system that glides up and down, the property is likened to a 21st-century castle.
One side of the house is constructed from glass and it is located at the edge of a golf course, amid sand dunes and a pine forest.
The windows to the sitting room open with a remote control so that you could even hit a golf ball from inside the house on to the course.
CASA NA GATEIRA
Taylor and Quentin also visit the eccentric Casa Na Gateira, perched in a dramatic setting on the highest point in mainland Portugal.
The house looks like a snake from above and was dreamt up by a British couple Neil and Shirley as a second home in conjunction with Lisbon architects, Camarim.
The concrete structure of the house gives it bad acoustics, so the couple chose to have the interior lined with cork, which has been harvested by hand in Portugal for 300 years, to absorb some of the sound.
The snake-like structure of the building means that there are amazing views from almost any point in the property.
THE DUNE HOUSE
The Dune House (BBC/Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Fernando Guerra FG+SG)
The Dune House is set in Muda near the coast, an hour and a half south of Lisbon, where sandy terrain is expected.
This property, designed by Pereira Miguel Architects, has two artificial sand dunes leading up the side of the roof so that you can walk up them to admire the view.
The building has been constructed in a cross shape, giving it two internal courtyards, while shutters on the side help keep the temperature down in sweltering summers.
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