Massive Concrete Screens Bring Plenty of Light and Air to This Sandwiched-In Brazilian Home

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Project Details:

Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Architect: Ateliê GR / @ateliegrau

Footprint: 2,615 square feet

Structural Engineer: ETVL Engenharia

Civil Engineer: MULISANI

Lighting Design: Ricardo Heder

Photographer: Nelson Kon / @nelsonkonfotografias

From the Architect: "The Caetés House is located on an urban plot within a mixed-use zone of São Paulo, Brazil. The street is quiet, characterized by the coexistence of residential, service, and commercial uses. Its proximity to public transportation and easy access to green infrastructure create a favorable urban context. The program accommodates a large family consisting of a couple and five children. The family configuration is ‘tentacular,’ featuring a complex and interconnected structure that moves beyond the traditional nuclear model, incorporating various unions, separations, remarriages, and diverse affective bonds, resulting in an expanded network of relationships.

"The implementation of a compact three-story volume optimizes the use of built areas and their relationship with the exterior spaces, prioritizing natural lighting and ventilation. Each floor was designed with distinct functions and attractions. The layout of each level was idealized to provide maximum flexibility, adopting an open plan with internal drywall partitions. The intermediate level, with direct access from the street, houses an open driveway for two vehicles connected to a vestibule where the main staircase is located. Adjacent to this space, two independent offices, separated by voids, integrate the dynamics of adult work and children's leisure into daily life. The lower floor concentrates the social area, with an integrated living room, dining room, and kitchen facing the backyard, and a patio permeated by gardens. This building level features longitudinal openings along the boundaries, providing light and ventilation to a semi-underground floor, ensuring privacy while simultaneously offering a privileged view of the city skyline. The upper floor is dedicated to the bedrooms, arranged along a hallway that receives light filtered through concrete cobogós (hollow blocks). This floor stands out for its high ceilings and generous cross-ventilation, which flows across the two facades defined by the perforated concrete panels. These large planes feature rhythmic openings that frame the city view.

"The block’s roof functions as a suspended garden, integrated with the city’s flora and fauna. This garden acts as a ‘green sponge,’ absorbing large volumes of water during rainy periods. Integrated into this garden is the residence’s technical area. This space houses the water tank, pressurizer, air-conditioning condensers for the offices, and an electrical panel prepared for the future installation and integration of solar panels.

"The residence adopts a palette of raw materials, such as exposed bricks and concrete blocks, polished concrete floors (laje zero), and precast concrete slabs, which contrast with large glass panes in aluminum frames. Exposed installations—with each pipe color-coded by function—reinforce the building’s ‘brutalism,’ juxtaposing industrial and artisanal elements as a representation of contemporary construction techniques. The project incorporates several references to seminal works of modern architecture, influences that enrich the creative process and the living experience."