Located about an hour from São Paulo, the house in Itu is a
refuge for a young couple with children. A prime position on the banks of a
small lake and the presence of a large yellow ipe tree led us to create a house
that takes maximum advantage of the landscape.
The floor plan in L shape divides the house in a simple way:
the main volume contains the children´s room in the ground floor, a courtyard
next to the home theater forms an intimate living room, a large living room
opens onto the terrace and garden , erasing the boundaries between inside and
outside. Above this volume are situated the master suite and a gym. In the
secondary volume are the dining room, kitchen and the service areas.
On the first floor of this volume are the guest rooms. The
house is marked by horizontality and fluidity between the spaces. The entry is
made at the point where the two volumes converge; a low-ceiling guides the look
to the external landscape. On one side the stone floor of the dining room goes
towards the terrace, gradually merging into the garden.
The living room is at
a slightly lower level and has a higher ceiling. A tree trunk dominates this
space, covering the single column present in the room. The windows slide
completely and are hidden inside the walls, bringing the terrace and landscape
into the house.
The wood floor and ceiling give a warm and domestic aspect
to that space that is merged with nature. A second terrace room was created
under the pergola in continuity with the living room. The whole side of the
volume is dominated by a large wooden deck and a swimming lane, integrated with
the landscape by rocks that penetrate the pool.
The old Yellow Ipe tree was preserved and merges with the
architecture; a staircase was created aligned with that tree to connect the
deck with the first floor. Several pathways are possible between inside and
outside, being one of the most strong characteristics of the plan.
Covered in cumaru wood and painted with a colour that uses
the local earth, even though it contains a large volume the house holds a
discrete insertion in the landscape, its strong horizontality in dialogue with
the tree canopies that surround the site.
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