I Found the UK's Next Self-Build — It's in Portugal

The UK builds fewer one-off self-build homes than almost any country in Europe. I wanted to understand why — and whether we could learn from elsewhere. So I travelled to Vale de Lobo, a tiny village near Mirandela in northern Portugal, to stay in Casa Do Lar and Casa Do Lagar — two houses designed and built together on a site that contained little more than crumbling stone ruins when the project began in 2014. This isn't a bland modern box dropped onto a green field. The design stitches together original stone walls with new construction to create something that teaches real lessons for UK self-builders — on layout, materials, adaptability, and what it means for a house to belong to its place. In this video I cover how the architect integrated original stone ruins into the new structure, design ideas UK self-builders can use — shutters, bifurcated staircases, corner windows, shared utility buildings — how to design two houses that function as one extended family compound, and what this project would cost to replicate in the UK. This is episode 2 of EU vs UK: Who Builds Better Homes? You can book a stay here on Airbnb - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/415985... This video is one of a three-part mini-series I made about home design in Europe. This is a link to the playlist -    • Who Builds Better Homes (EU v’s UK)   If you need advice about altering, extending, buying or building a home in the UK, book an online consultation with me on the Real Life Architecture website - https://www.reallifearchitecture.co.u... please read the terms and conditions before you book. TIMESTAMPS Intro - 0:00 Building a one-off house - 0:40 The design - 2:15 The cost to build the project - 11:14 Planning and Building Regulations - 13:40 Summary - 15:10 #selfbuild #ukselfbuild #portugal #housedesign #homedesign #buildingahouse #housebuild #housebuilding #tinyhouse #microhouse #architect #ukproperty #ukconstruction #ukhome