Location: Porto Feliz
Type of Construction: Residential
Site Area: 2830, 20m
Building Area: 522, 22m
Project Completion: 2018
Architect Studio: FGMF (Forte, Gimenes e Marcondes Ferraz Arquitetos)
Authors: Fernando Forte, Lourenco Gimenes, Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz
Coordinators: Gabriel Mota, Juliana Cado, Luciana Bacin
Contributors: Ana Orefice, Amanda Domingues, Caio Armbrust, Desyree Niedo, Eduardo Vale, Fabiana Kalaigian, Gilberto Sales, Joao Baptistella, Jose Carlos Navaroo, Julio de Luca, Karina Nakaura, Livia Veroni, Mariana Leme, Priscylla Hayashi, Thiago Costa, Victor Lucena Estagiarios
Intern: Aryane Diaz, Giovanna Custodio, Matheus Soares, Raquel Gregorio
Photographer: Fran Parente
Constructor: Citycon
Foundation and Structural Engineering: Gama Z
Electrical and Plumbing Engineer: Fator Projetos
Landscape Designer: Gabriela Ornaghi
Interior Design: FGMF

A minimalist interior with an open layout and an exposed concrete slab.

The living area that has a wall of glass that extends to the ceiling.

The social and recreational area next to the pool is glassed in and open.

An open space for dining and socializing that is surrounded by vegetation and a stone retaining wall.

A formal dining room with a wood-patterned wall and shelves mounted on it.

The spacious bedroom has a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that provides a clear view of the surrounding landscape.

The service areas have closure in ebonized ventilated facade.

Along the building's perimeter, the house is arranged in a linear fashion. — Along the building’s perimeter, the house is arranged in a linear fashion.

The guest wing has a wooden treatment that when closed turns into a monolithic block under the slab.

The small volume in the middle of the garden ceiling on the upper floor has large openings and functions as an element that is now completely open to the view and watertight.

A view of the home's linear design, which features a large, open lawn in the middle and a pool. — A view of the home’s linear design, which features a large, open lawn in the middle and a pool.

A floor slab that matches the roof slab reinforces the building's presence and the wall's separation from the garden. — A floor slab that matches the roof slab reinforces the building’s presence and the wall’s separation from the garden.

A ramp that spans the extensive program of the house leads to the suspended garden.

A garden ceiling with a tiny volume that provides a bird's-eye view of the surrounding landscape. — A garden ceiling with a tiny volume that provides a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding landscape.

The garden, swimming pool, solarium, sand court, and some solar panels can be seen in an aerial photo.

When evaluating for the client three possible lands for the construction of his residence, this lot with a corner situation, interesting sunstroke, and with a slight difference in level of the land caught our attention, and the project concept emerged quickly by FGMF.

The proposal starts from simple concepts – a perimeter organization, predominantly ground floor, follows the peculiar shape of the land and its mandatory area left vacant, generates a patio semi internal lowered in relation to the street to guarantee privacy without losing the relationship with outdoor areas and streets.

The resulting format, in a kind of letter c, guarantees visual contact between all ground floor environments. The core of the project is the creation of an extensive and thin slab that, inclined, merges with the land allowing it to continue over the construction creating an extensive roof garden.

A floor slab that accompanies the roof slab reinforces the presence of the building and separation of the built object from the garden. Under the exposed concrete slab, the program is organized in a linear way along the perimeter.

The sectioning is reinforced by different sealing materials; the social and leisure area is glazed or opened, the guest wing has a wooden treatment that when closed turns into a monolithic block under the slab, and the service areas have closure in ebonized ventilated facade.

On the slab is only the main suite, which has a sealing treatment that continues through the stairs with the opaque elements of the ground floor.

This small volume on the upper floor in the middle of the garden ceiling has large openings and works as an element that is now watertight, now completely open to the view. Garage, garden and entrance hall are as negatives under the slab, which cantilevered or with tears covers the environments gently.

The project is also a minimal impact test on the lot, which seems untouched in an aerial photo comparing the neighbourhood – besides the garden, only the swimming pool, solarium, sand court and some solar panels are in fact visible from above, in a kind of a minimum “footprint”.

The large green coverage of the slab provides great thermal comfort, and the extensive glass openings that allow cross ventilation help with energy performance of the building.

The use of a “suspended garden” accessible on a ramp that covers the extensive program of the house has turned it into a space that is at the same time very integrated with each other and a little discreet when seen from the outside, providing a dynamic use that came together with the residents’ wishes.

Hits on the ground with a stone retaining wall and an extensive lateral mound finishes the composition and arrangement of the object on the ground, in an attempt of fusion of the plot with the architecture.

The minimalist interior design, with a mix of national and international designers, also carried out by the office, complements the house and allows from informal use and leisure – which were the main objectives – to slightly more formal events.