Interior of a house under construction with the opening onto the landscape

The studio

We are in Alvor, and we go to site.

The person you speak to in the first conversation is the one who designs the house and goes to site.

The person you speak to is the person who designs your home

The project does not pass from hand to hand.

The person with you in the first conversation is the one who designs the house, chooses the materials with you and goes to site to follow the work.

We work with clients who live in the Algarve and with clients who bought a house here and live elsewhere. Clients here come to the studio and visit the space with us. Clients abroad have exactly the same meetings by video call, with the work on screen in front of them.

Meeting table with open catalogues and a colour fan — A materials meeting at the studio. This is how what goes into the house is decided.

Studio portrait holding an interiors magazine

Empatia began in Alvor, in 2021

A house is not judged by what you see when you walk in, but by how it feels to live in.

Before proposing anything, we ask how the house will be used, by whom, and at which times of year. The project comes from there, and not from a style we brought with us. The name comes from there too.

Today we design whole houses, new builds and renovations, and commercial spaces, with the design and the bespoke furniture coming from the same team.

You can follow the works without being here

We go to site, confirm it matches the design and tell you how it is going.

All we ask is that you decide when we ask you to. The rest stays with us.

One of our apartments in Quarteira, during painting and the kitchen installation.

Three things we always do

Go to site, meet by video call, put everything in writing.

We go to site

We measure, see what has been done and bring back anything that does not match the design, while there is still time.

We meet by video call

Concept, 3D and materials, with the work on screen in front of you. A good part of our projects is decided this way.

Everything is put in writing

After each meeting we send a summary of what was decided and what comes next.

The studio is in Alvor

Edifício Dunas do Alvor, Estrada da Barca, Bloco A, Loja 6.

This is where we receive clients, where the samples are and where in-person meetings happen.

Hands choosing material samples and a colour fan — The samples are all here, and that is what you choose from.

Start with a conversation

Tell us what you have in hand.

By video call or here, at our studio in Alvor. We will be in touch within two working days, with no commitment on your part.

Talk to us