![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-48.jpg)
House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos
Architectural photographer Fernando Guerra has sent us his images of a nursing home in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal, by Portuguese studio Aires Mateus Arquitectos.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-0.jpg)
The façade is reminiscent of a checkerboard, with its white surface punctured at intervals by recesses to shade its glazing.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-1.jpg)
The long building meanders over the site, rising and falling with the topography of the landscape.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-34.jpg)
A surrounding landscaped garden reaches up to the roof of at some parts, giving access to the top of the building.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-4.jpg)
Photographs are by Fernando Guerra.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-5.jpg)
More projects by Aires Mateus Arquitectos on Dezeen »
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More photography by Fernando Guerra on Dezeen »
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More photography stories on Dezeen »
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Here's some information from the architects:
ALCÁCER DO SAL FORM
The project is based on a attentive reading of the life of a very specific kind of community, a sort of a micro-society with its own rules.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-3.jpg)
It is a program, somewhere in between a hotel and a hospital, that seeks to comprehend and reinterpret the combination social/private, answering to the needs of a social life, and at the same time of solitude.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-2.jpg)
Independents unities aggregate into a unique body, whose design is expressive and clear.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-15.jpg)
The reduct mobility of those who will live in the building suggests that any displacement should be an emotive and variable experience.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-19.jpg)
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-20.jpg)
The building, designed path, is a wall that naturally rises from the topography: it limits and defines the open space, organizing the entire plot.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-21.jpg)
Name of the project: Residências assistidas em Alcácer do Sal. Houses for eldery people in Alcácer do Sal.
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-22.jpg)
Location: Alcácer do Sal (Portugal)
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-23.jpg)
Date of project: 2006-2007
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-24.jpg)
Date of construction: 2008-2010
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-25.jpg)
Brief project description: Authors: Francisco Aires Mateus, Manuel Aires Mateus
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-26.jpg)
Collaborators: Giacomo Brenna, Paola Marini, Anna Bacchetta, Miguel Pereira
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-27.jpg)
Client: Santa Casa da Misericordia de Alcácer do Sal
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-28.jpg)
Engineer: Engitarget, lda
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-31.jpg)
Constructor: Ramos Catarino, Sa
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-32.jpg)
Landscape architecture: ABAP Luis Alçada Batista
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-33.jpg)
Footprint Area: 1560 m2
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-40.gif)
Floor Gross Area: 3640 m2
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-41.gif)
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![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-46.gif)
![House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos House for elderly people by Aires Mateus Arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/02/dzn_House-for-elderly-people-by-Aires-Mateus-Arquitectos-47.gif)
See also:
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School by Nuno Montenegro M+P Architects | Damier by Apollo Architects & Associates | Casa Areia by Aires Mateus Arquitectos |