Schwarz
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From certain vantage points, it looks like a relic from an ancient civilization, maybe an exposed portion of a stepped pyramid or some kind of Mayan monument. Partially buried in a steep hillside in the rural Vila Real district of northern Portugal, the Casa Tóló presents itself as a Jimmy Stewart kind of character: self-effacing at first, but then increasingly bold. Instead of a front facade, it offers merely a concrete deck, jutting out over the edge of a 33-degree slope with a view of mountains in the distance. To learn more, you must descend a set of stairs recessed in the deck, an act of faith since so little of the architecture has been revealed so far. As you move forward, you realize the house is a path, both literally and figuratively, taking you on a walk through the woods and unfolding in section as much as in plan.