The architecture is born from listening carefully to the land and the program. A steeply sloping lot, framed by buildings on the sides and back, posed the first challenges — and offered the first answers.
To accommodate the construction, a cut was made in the front portion of the lot, next to the street, defining the two lower floors: on the first, the access and the garage; on the second, my office, where creation takes place between the concrete and the view. The house rises on the third level, on a plateau that allows for a linear layout — a suspended, fluid house, integrated into the landscape and the horizon.
The building rests on the side boundaries and opens up in the permitted distances, strategically distancing itself from the neighboring buildings. In this way, it seeks light, ventilation and privacy. The high ceiling intensifies this relationship with the external environment, allowing natural light to invade the spaces and the sky to be part of everyday life.
The choice of concrete was natural from the beginning — not only as a structure, but as a language. Brutal in its essence, it reveals itself in solids and voids, in planes that protect from the street and, at the same time, open up to the sky, the mountains, the city. A gesture of strength and subtlety.
The landscaping extends the greenery of the street into the interior of the lot, adding to the pool that makes its presence felt, generates movement, occupies the rough and softens the rigid. It attracts birds, gives life, establishes a silent connection with the divine.
In the finishing touches, what would be simple becomes noble. The exposed concrete — whether structural or in the floors — contrasts with quartzite, granite, metals and wood. One material enhances the other, creating visual and tactile harmony. It is the elegance of a well-made composition, where each element finds its place naturally.
In the choice of furniture, the contrast of textures brings welcome and warmth, dissolving the coldness of the concrete and inviting rest and conviviality. Leather, bouclé, cotton, linen, wood and aluminum make up an urban, practical and contemporary home, but above all, sensitive to time and affection.
The office follows the same line as the house: between home and office, between the functional and the cozy — a creative space with soul.
In the end, this house is made up of many choices, big and small. It is the synthesis of what I believe, designed with intention and emotion.
2022
2025
Location: Rua Helena Antipoff, São Bento - Belo Horizonte / MG - Brazil
Use: Private House
Constructed Area: 413.00m²
Land Area: 450.00m²
Number of Floors: 03
Construction System: Reinforced Concrete
Architect: Frederico Bicalho
Team: Luciana Araujo
Structural Design: Breno Alves
Electrical and Plumbing Design: Marcela Leite
Jomar Bragança
