This new project is a nursing home for the elderly in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal, recently completed by Aires Mateus Architects.

Light-filled, modern and minimal, Aires Mateus Architects have utilised recesses and flat plains which results in not just an aesthetically pleasing whole, but also provides shade for the occupants.

Rendered in white, this approach has created a great 'checkerboard' facade which rises and falls with the surrounding hilly landscape.

Inside, the rooms for those in care are all done up in a tasteful mix of white and grey, and each apartment or room has a private balcony too - making sure residents have as much access to privacy as opportunities for social interaction by using the walking paths that wind around the exterior.

Photography Fernando Guerra.