Cova Minhoto, Santiago, Cabo Verde · 2026
Moradia Cova Minhoto is a contemporary private residence designed as a protected urban retreat in Cova Minhoto, Cidade da Praia.
The project is shaped by a deliberate relationship between privacy and openness. Rather than turning toward the surrounding urban environment, the house creates its own interior world, using solid concrete walls, carefully positioned openings and a central courtyard to control views, light and movement.
The architecture is organized around two contrasting volumes: a robust base in exposed concrete and a lighter, white upper volume that accommodates the private spaces. Together, they create a dialogue between mass and lightness, enclosure and openness.
At the heart of the house is the central courtyard and swimming pool, which becomes the main point of connection between the interior and exterior. The social areas open directly toward this space through generous, glazed surfaces, allowing natural light, ventilation and visual continuity to move throughout the home.
The circulation is conceived as an experience in itself. A longitudinal entrance sequence, framed by solid walls and deep shadows, gradually reveals the interior courtyard and the life of the house beyond it.
The private areas are positioned above, offering greater separation and privacy while maintaining carefully framed connections with the surrounding landscape. Vegetation is integrated into the architecture, softening the geometric volumes and introducing a changing layer of nature across the white surfaces and terraces.
Materially, the project embraces a restrained palette of exposed concrete, white surfaces and timber, allowing texture, light and shadow to become part of the architectural expression.
More than a house, Moradia Cova Minhoto is conceived as an interior refuge — a place where architecture creates its own atmosphere through the interplay of space, light, water, vegetation and material.
Project Information
Project: Moradia Cova Minhoto
Location: Cova Minhoto, Cidade da Praia, Santiago, Cabo Verde
Year: 2026
Architecture: César Freitas Arquitetos — César Freitas, Décio Varela
Engineering: César Freitas Arquitetos
Photography / 3D: César Freitas Arquitetos, Décio Varela
Site Area: 533 m²