BELA VISTA HOUSE

Bela Vista House is the result of the intersections between apparently divergent housing types: a patio house laid out in a square plan; and superimposed linear blocks inserted in the topography by carefully located retaining walls. These differences are responsible not only for the insertion of the house in the landscape, which create a contrast between the topographic plinth and the transparent volume topping it, but also for splitting social and intimate functions. The difference in level between these areas have independent car accesses, which facilitate the parking management of visitors, residents, and service providers. The volumes that cap the hill, which redesign its perimeter overlooking the valley in a square shape, accommodate bedrooms and private living areas. On top of it, the glass volume built around a patio houses all social spaces of the house: living, reception, dinning, among others.

Its glass panes are protected by automatic translucent meshes for thermal and natural lighting regulation. Horizontal and vertical circulations all take place around the patio, which doubles in function as a rain garden. Its roof collects rainwater and direct it to the patio, where it is collected for reuse as greywater in the house. The opposite volume, which is partially inserted in the terrain, gives support for pool and outdoor activities, with amenities such as: sauna, gym, barbeque pit, and others. The linear pool and deck that connect them leans over the landscape by creating and infinity edge on the plinth. The only part of the house disconnected from the plinth, but that remains inserted in the hill, is a private granite volume that contains guest rooms.

The house has a total built area of 2650 sqm. The plinth is made of peripheral concrete retaining walls covered with pre-fabricated, high-resistance concrete panels. The glass volume is enclosed by large-scale, sliding panes made of 18mm laminated glass, while its roof was made in CCM (copper composite material) over thermo-molded waterproofing film.

Casa Bela Vista is a unique example of the combination of architecture and landscape architecture to achieve a seamless intervention whose programmatic, spatial and technical solutions form a single gesture. The interplay between the hill, plinth and patio pavilion generate exceptional spatial qualities that are fully weaved with surrounding views and gardens. In this context, it is hard to drawn clear lines between what could be considered landscape and building. The distribution of flows and different levels access to both the house and the gardens are also controlled by insertions of building into the topography and bridges. This creates a singular intervention that exemplifies innovative means to integrate architecture and site.

 

NS APT

With an original segmented floor plan, the project for the renovation of this 400 square meters apartment in São Paulo city united the spaces and integrated the entire social area. Seeking to create a visual unity, the main living wall was entirely covered in wood panels, which through mimicked doors – opening and pivoting – from floor to ceiling, give access to the TV room, kitchen, toilet and intimate area. On the walls with windows, the L-shaped joinery is an important element, responsible for space for books and exhibition of the client’s pieces of art, uniting living and dining and also serving as support for both spaces.

In this project, the material palette was chosen taking into account the concepts of coziness and contemporaneity, and also seeking to create a neutral base for the artworks and furniture to assume the main role. The floor of the entire apartment is in marble and the wood used in the panels and joinery is natural Freijó, which in contrast with the floor, heats visually the space and provides comfort. In the toilet, the floor material is reinterpreted as it is sculpted into a linear vat with a gutter design, fixed only on the side walls, appearing to float.

The furniture were chosen together with the client, bringing together modern national and international design from a contemporary aesthetic. In the living room, the sofa MP081 by Percival Lafer, the Cloud armchairs by Diesel, and the Tariki bench by Jacqueline Terpins stand out. Meanwhile, in the TV room, which also plays the role of a library, Jangada armchair by Jean Gillon and Chaise Longue by Charles and Ray Eames. The upholstery is made of leather, linen and velvet in brown and gray tones, in harmony with the palette of the spaces’ surfaces.

To create an intimate atmosphere, the hall was covered with wooden sheets and in the lighting project developed in partnership with Estúdio Carlos Fortes, a tensioned canvas was applied, which, added to the lamps in the upper area, produces indirect lighting through translucency.

ABK HOUSE

The original house, designed by modern architect Sergio Bernardes in 1960, was found in precarious state. As much of his works, the house was originally designed to allow the much of its environmental control systems to be done passively using air cushions between roof and ceiling surfaces, controllable brise soleils, among others. However, much of its original spatial and material features had been stripped out by either the careless displacement or addition of certain elements.

The renovation aimed at reinvigorating the house’s original characteristics while updating its spaces, infrastructure and energy performance. The house’s private areas were also expanded to accommodate the needs of the new residents. All wooden elements, from the staircase in the entrance to the brise-soleils, as well as their mechanic components, were restored to its original state and became fully functional again.

The house’s structure and enclosing are rigorously modulated and built with pre-fabricated concrete components, some of which were found severely damaged. The roof, for example, was composed of concrete troughs that served as both structure and water-proofing elements, which presented numerous leaking points and high thermal transmittance rates. In order to update it and reach better thermal insulation indexes, it was replaced by an insulated concrete plate separated from the ceiling, recreating the original ventilated space between them. The double-height structure of the veranda’s roof was also covered with concrete slabs, which were replaced with retractable, translucid awnings that allow the area to become completely outdoor and to let sunlight reach the interior of the house more intensively. The pool was returned to its original location along the site’s granite wall, and now integrates the veranda. The house’s HVAC and MPE infrastructure was entirely replaced with new equipment that reduce energy and water consumption.

The total built area of the house (after renovation) is 560 sqm. Its original concrete structure, which was originally covered in wood, is now covered with isostatic grey paint on aluminum sheets. Special wooden and mechanic components of the original project (brisesoleils and maid stairs) have been entirely restored. The entire flooring of the house’s social areas is made of local grey granite, which extends from the interior to all outdoor areas and swimming pool. Intimate areas (bedrooms) are covered in 0.15x2m pieces of ‘cumaru’ wood (local Brazilian tree). The existing concrete roof, made of pre-fabricated concrete panels, was replaced with thermoacoustic insulation to improve waterproofing and thermal performance. Its HVAC system articulates both VRF and conventional split units, respectively, for the social and bedroom areas.

CABANA

Subtly deployed on the plot at Saco do Mamanguá, in Paraty, – a tropical fjord with access only by boat – the project is a refuge in the forest. In this context, the disposition of the volumes was determined by the position of the trees and untouched vegetation of the Mata Atlântica. 

With natural preservation as a priority, the proposal was to divide the construction into three volumes, following the perimeter of the buildings previously existing on the plot: a boat garage, close to the water for entry; the Cabana (portuguese word for cabin), on a higher level, privileging unobstructed views; and finally, at the bottom of the land, a caretaker’s house and technical areas. The former and the latter were requalified from the original state they were found. 

Built on the perimeter of the old construction, the main volume has just the essentials: a balcony, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Here, the most important thing is the natural space, and the construction is only a support. 

In logistical issues, since the land was remote and only accessible by small boats, we opted for light structural systems and parts with small dimensions. With this in mind, Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) was the material adopted for the structure, while for closings, modular panels composed of painted navy plywood boards, all with commercial dimensions of the boards and with apparent wood joints. This approach allowed easy transportation and the construction site to act as an mounting system, ensuring speed, low environmental impact and higher quality of parts. 

Projectually, the residence is very simple: a wooden deck, a large eave supported on slender pillars of circular section, and a linear wall cutting its length, which in turn, protects the kitchen and suite. 

The social area is actually a large balcony, open, connected to nature, sometimes protected by the canopy of trees, sometimes catching sight of the sea between the leaves. At the perimeter, a wooden bench plays the role of guardrails. This space has awnings as the only closure. At the back, the service and private areas receive modular panels that delimit the space. The doors and windows also function as panels, aligned with the partitions and with exposed solid wood uprights. 

In the spacing between the beams, hatches were installed, allowing the breeze to flow through the space when opened. 

Due to the fact that the place does not have infrastructure for electricity, it was decided to install an energy generator, arranged next to the caretaker’s house, as a technical area. The water is collected from the source of running water. The shower is heated by gas. 

PM HOUSE

Built from two unified sites, PM House was designed for a couple with two children and a large collection of art that is part of their daily life, not constituting only a decorative collection. Tha house has a non-orthogonal shape, which influenced its implantation not perpendicular to the street. The design with staggered balconies on the upper deck benefits the rooms with air circulation and the incidence of natural light. Every room has the same view and the same inclination. The walls were lined with randomly-penned cementitious plates to gain an apparent concrete effect in contrast to the glass guardrail, which in turn brings lightness to the ensemble.

The façade has an external shutter that can be closed when necessary. At the front and side of the building, textured glass panels rest on the metal frame, with wide-angle frames.

The idea was to transform the terrace into a continuity of the house. Thus, the floor is continuous, you can not see the window frames and there are few pillars, with the intention of increasing the possibilities of circulation.

GURUMÊ TIJUCA

This is a project for the restaurant Gurumê, which specializes on Japanese cuisine. The name is a witty play of the word ‘gourmet’ and aims to emit a feeling of simplicity and sophistication, concept which the office sought to carry through to the design.

The restaurant area contains two collective tables with a winding shape that stimulates people’s interaction. A more ‘private’ space is formed by a tunnel structured by a succession of geometrically defined porticoes cladded with thin slabs of cumaru timber. Towards the back one finds the sushi bar, comprising of corian table tops where the client is invited to watch the dishes being prepared.

The materiality of the project, a combination of oxidized copper and timber, was a choice seeking to evoke feelings reminiscent to fishing world: its culture, its boats and its ships. Meanwhile, the hydraulic tiles found on the floors are all hand-crafted and neutral to guarantee the focus rests on the colors of the wood and oxidized copper.