MJARC Arquitetos wins Porcelanosa Award with Douro Wood House

MJARC Arquitetos was distinguished with the “Architectural Project of the Year” award at the 17th edition of the Porcelanosa Architecture, Interior Design and Real Estate Development Awards, held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

The award was given to Douro Wood House, an architectural retreat located in the heart of the Douro Valley, in Baião, designed from a profound relationship between architecture, nature and territory.

This distinction represents a moment of great pride for MJARC Arquitetos and reinforces the international recognition of a practice rooted in listening to the place, in the careful use of materials and in the creation of spaces that are sensitively integrated into the ecosystems they inhabit.

A house designed to belong to the landscape

Douro Wood House emerges from a conscious and contextual approach. Rather than asserting itself as an isolated object, the house seeks to blend into the forested landscape of the Douro, respecting the topography, the existing vegetation and the natural identity of the territory.

Developed through a modular timber construction system, the house reflects a clear commitment to reducing environmental impact. Its structure uses timber sourced from certified and responsibly managed forests, contributing to a lower carbon footprint and to a more sustainable construction process.

One of the project’s most meaningful gestures is the preservation of the pre-existing trees on the site, integrated through strategic openings in the roof. This decision expresses an essential idea for MJARC: architecture should not replace the place, but learn how to coexist with it.

Architecture, matter and low environmental impact

The house is suspended above the ground, avoiding intrusive excavations and deep alterations to the natural topography. This solution allows the local fauna to move freely, preserves the natural flow of rainwater and reduces the building’s interference with the ecosystem.

The timber façade establishes a chromatic and material continuity with the pine forests that characterise the landscape of Baião. The green roof, composed of native plant species, contributes to the building’s thermal performance, promotes biodiversity and acts as a natural extension of the terrain itself.

Every construction choice was conceived to create a harmonious relationship between human life and the natural context. The result is a quiet, timeless architecture, deeply connected to the experience of place.

Recognition on an international stage

The Porcelanosa Awards ceremony brought together leading professionals from the fields of architecture, design, interior design and real estate development, in an event held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

For MJARC Arquitetos, receiving this distinction on an international stage represents not only the recognition of Douro Wood House, but also the acknowledgement of an architectural approach that places territory, sustainability and human experience at the centre of its practice.

The presence of renowned figures from contemporary architecture further reinforced the importance of this award and its significance within the international journey of the studio.

A night celebrating international architecture

The 17th Porcelanosa Awards Gala took place at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, bringing together leading professionals from architecture, interior design, design and real estate development. In a setting dedicated to the celebration of excellence, innovation and creativity, MJARC Arquitetos had the honour of seeing Douro Wood House distinguished with the “Architectural Project of the Year” award.

For Architect Maria João Andrade, co-founder of MJARC Arquitetos, receiving this distinction in such a significant international context was a moment of special meaning. The ceremony was also an opportunity to share this recognition with some of the most respected names in contemporary architecture, including Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Meeting Riken Yamamoto, one of the most influential figures in world architecture, made the evening even more memorable. His work, marked by a profound reflection on community, public space and the way architecture can transform human relationships, is an inspiration for all those who believe in the cultural, social and emotional role of architecture.

This moment reinforces the importance of continuing to design with responsibility, sensitivity and awareness of place. For MJARC Arquitetos, the recognition of Douro Wood House by Porcelanosa represents not only an award for the project, but also for the vision behind it: an architecture integrated into the landscape, of low environmental impact and deeply connected to the experience of inhabiting.

MJARC Arquitetos thanks Porcelanosa for this distinction and congratulates all the winners of this edition, in an event that celebrated architecture as a discipline capable of creating value, identity and permanence.

A path of recognition for Douro Wood House

The distinction at the Porcelanosa Awards joins a series of national and international recognitions that have highlighted Douro Wood House for its sensitive, sustainable and landscape-integrated approach.

The project has become one of the most recognised works in the recent path of MJARC Arquitetos, consolidating a narrative that brings together constructive innovation, environmental responsibility and a deep relationship with the Portuguese territory.

Architecture that belongs to the place

Since 2006, MJARC Arquitetos has developed a practice based on a careful reading of context, materials and the people who will inhabit each space.

Douro Wood House embodies this vision: an architecture that does not impose itself on the landscape, but finds in it its reason for being. A house shaped by nature, matter and the experience of inhabiting.

This award reinforces MJARC Arquitetos’ commitment to low-impact, sensory and contextual architecture, capable of creating spaces that endure over time because they truly belong to the place where they are born.