Studio Arthur Casas Designs a Modernist Home Surrounded by Greenery in Brazil

2022 Best of Year Winner for Large City House

When clients, a young couple with two small children, came to Brazilian architect and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Arthur Casas, they had a small plot of land in São Paulo and a large list of desires. They wanted privacy from the street but as much usable outdoor space as possible. They wanted an open-plan kitchen and living area that would accommodate entertaining but also home offices for each of them. And they needed bedrooms for their children and guests as well as their own suite. Casas and his team gave them everything they asked for, and more, in a modernist 7,000-square-foot house tucked into lush greenery.

The ground floor flows out to an expansive terrace protected by the overhanging second floor. There, the facade incorporates a cobogó, a cast-concrete screen used throughout Brazil to modulate the strong sun. This custom version, cast on-site and tinted ochre, helps the upstairs rooms feel secluded while preserving views of the grounds and allowing fresh air to circulate.

Stunningly, additional outdoor space is provided on the house’s roof, a flat plane decked in wooden planks. It features a firepit surrounded by a built-in banquette on one end, a lap pool on the other—all bordered by more verdant landscaping.

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Studio Arthur Casas: arthur casas; regiane khristian; eduardo mikowski; biz braga; fernanda altemari; gabriel leitão; pedro brito.