A cork oak grove with dry grass and long afternoon shadows

The place · Santiago do Cacém

Space changes everything.

Forty hectares of inland Alentejo.

0Hectares of land

The land

Shaped by land, light, silence and nature.

Set within the landscape of Santiago do Cacém in Portugal's Alentejo Litoral, YAH occupies forty hectares of cork oaks, olive trees, native grasses and warm earth, folded into gentle inland hills beneath a very large sky.

It is a landscape of long shadows and slow time. Nothing here is in a hurry, and the place is designed so that you needn't be either.

A cork oak beside an earth track in soft morning mist — Morning haze over the cork oaks

An earth track winding through an olive grove — Earth tracks and olive trees

A single tree on a golden plain under a deep blue sky — Large skies

Rolling golden hills dotted with trees under a clear sky — Gentle inland hills

Identity

Land, not sea.

YAH is an inland place, and it is proud of it. Its views run from the terrace to the meadow, from the meadow to the cork oaks, from the cork oaks to the hills and the sky.

Where the Alentejo Litoral is known for its coast, YAH chooses the countryside behind it: quieter, older and far less crowded. Everything about the place, from the architecture to the photography, is drawn from the land.

The masterplan

An eco resort by design.

The masterplan study by JDSA, Julien De Smedt Architects, places small clusters of low pavilions between the existing cork oaks, keeps the open meadows and works with the way water moves across the land, including a wetland low zone for rainwater.

Masterplan drawing of the estate with building clusters among the trees — Masterplan · JDSA study 2021

Aerial concept render of a cluster of pavilions among cork oaks

Concept render of a small bungalow in dry grassland

Concept render of the restaurant pavilion with a wide shading roof — Restaurant and common house

Architecture

Architecture that belongs here.

Low, quiet and connected to the land.

Buildings at YAH sit low in the landscape. Natural stone, lime plaster and timber, shaded terraces, deep openings and windows that frame the countryside rather than compete with it.

Concept render of a low pavilion beside a mature cork oak in dry grassland

Material direction

Local stone
Timber
Lime plaster
Linen
Clay
Native planting

Night at YAH

After dark, the place goes quiet.

Fire, stars, warm windows and silence. The inland sky is one of the darkest in Portugal.

At a glance

The place in numbers.

Current project facts from the development dossier.

Region: Alentejo Litoral
Municipality: Santiago do Cacém
Structure: Tourism in Rural Areas
Land: 40 ha
Tourist keys: 37
Private villas: 16
Resort units: 21

Come and see the land.

Stay at YAH See the residences