ombrelle

MaraIlves.

Rooms, coasts and still things.

Photographer of architecture and interiors. Commissioned by architects and designers; printed slowly, in small editions.

View the series
Long tiled pool and timber deck by the sea
Years in Lisbon
12
Series
6
Photographs
163
Pool deck, morningLow Water · 2025

Recent frames

Seven frames, this year.

Scroll sideways

  1. Attic bedroom under skylights, from the series Rooms at Rest
    01 / 07

    Attic, two skylights

    Rooms at Rest

  2. Curved infinity pool on a stone terrace, from the series Low Water
    02 / 07

    Curved pool, stone terrace

    Low Water

  3. Long kitchen with rattan pendants, from the series Table Studies
    03 / 07

    Long kitchen, rattan pendants

    Table Studies

  4. White stairs folding around a light well, from the series Thresholds
    04 / 07

    White stair, light well

    Thresholds

  5. White wall and pergola on the shore, from the series Low Water
    05 / 07

    Wall on the shore

    Low Water

  6. Light through slits in a concrete room, from the series Concrete Hours
    06 / 07

    Five slits, dark room

    Concrete Hours

  7. White reading corner with a wire chair, from the series Table Studies
    07 / 07

    Wire chair, white corner

    Table Studies

Series index

Six bodies of work, returned to for years.

All series
Cubic villa lit at dusk above a reflecting pool
Low Water · Photograph 11 / 18

Villa, the hour after sunset. Nothing moves but the light.

Commissions

For architects, makers and patient editors.

Selected clients

8

Completed buildings, interiors, collections and objects. Most commissions are a single day; some take a year of returning in different weather.

  • 01Ombrelle Atelier2019 —Buildings, ongoing
  • 02Studio Halden Architects2026Completed works
  • 03Casa & Cal2025Editorial, 6 issues
  • 04Maison Verrier2025Glassware catalogue
  • 05Fundação Alma Clara2024Collection & exhibition
  • 06Oaktree & Rye2024Furniture campaign
  • 07Northlight2023Cover story
  • 08Salina Hospitality2023Hotel opening
Stone stair hall rising to a lit doorway
Mara IlvesThresholds, 2023

About

Same light, many times.

Mara Ilves photographs buildings the way other people photograph faces: patiently, in the same light, until something gives. Trained as an architect in Tallinn, she has worked from Lisbon since 2014.

Her commissions are for architects, designers and the few magazines that still print large. Her own series return to the same few subjects — quiet rooms, coast houses, concrete and stairs — over many years.

Education
Architecture, Tallinn School of Building Arts
Exhibited
Galeria Porta Sul, Lisbon · Haus am Ufer, Hamburg
Camera
Large format, 4×5 and 8×10 film; digital for commissions

Prints

Signed, numbered, made to order.

Visit the print shop

Booking commissions from February 2027

Book a day, or a season.

Book a commissionstudio@marailves.example
Living room behind full-height glazing
Day rate
On request, from one building to a full collection
Lead time
Four to six weeks; we plan around the sun
Delivery
Edited set of 20–40 photographs, licensed for your use