A white-painted house, drawing a zig-zag silhouette, is raised on steel columns to appear like floating on the air in the Brazilian lush forest. 

Named Casa Açucena, the 500-square-metre house was designed by Brazilian architecture practice TETRO Arquitetura, the house appears like "a white flower" in the midst of nature contrasting with the forest.

The zig-zag-formed house is nestled on a site in lush Atlantic Rainforest nature. 

The house is surrounded by large leafy trees, foliage, shrubs, birds and wild animals and the topography itself was challenging for the studio since it had a steep slope, characteristic of the Nova Lima region in Minas Gerais, Brazil. 

The architects aimed to design a house that can respond to a sensitive reading of the place. The features of the terrain were key principles to integrate with the house to maintain the natural characteristics of the site.

The house is elevated 15 meters from the ground to both leave a minimum footprint on the nature and drive the act of looking upwards, according to the studio. 

"The act of looking upwards, from the ground to the canopy of trees, elevated up to fifteen meters above ground level, was decisive for the creation of the concept," said TETRO Arquitetura. 

"How to build in a place with such a steep topography, while maintaining the original nature? How to give the residents the daily experience of looking up and seeing the sky through the treetops." 

"These were the questions that guided all design decisions," the studio added.

The studio also added that "The initial understanding that architecture should mold to the terrain, and not the other way around, was the starting point." 

"The house rises above the ground and the animal and plant life develops underneath." 

The program of the house shapes itself by occupying the empty spaces between the trees in all-white boxes with floor-to-ceiling glazing. During construction, the studio didn't remove any trees on the site so the the nature of the topography has not changed. 

The studio describes the project as "art and nature in perfect harmony."

"From this point on, no choice or design decision was made by taste or will of the architect. Everything is a response and is intended to reinforce a concept," the studio added.

The house is painted in white color, to make a surprise to those who arrive. Its steel pillars are randomly placed and blend in with the trunks so that the house seems to float within a lush forest. 

The house has a fluid plan, a result of the program's occupation among the trees. Its openings and folds in the slab are created to reach the view of the treetops, generate the volumetry.

"The architecture is harmoniously inserted next to the natural vegetation, but maintains its presence. Surprise and novelty are values inherent to art. Casa Açucena presents itself as a white flower in the midst of nature," the office added.

First floor plan

Second floor plan

Third floor plan

Section 

Section 

Section

Right façade

Back façade

Left façade

Project facts

Project name: Casa Açucena

Architects: TETRO Arquitetura

Responsible Architects: Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes and Igor Macedo

Location: Rua dos Jacarandás, 1012 - Jardins de Petrópolis - Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Completion year: 2021

Total built area (m2): 500 m²

Other participants

Contributors: Laura Georgia Rodrigues Layoun, Otávio, Daniele Meloni, Déborah Martins

Concrete structural project: M Estruturas

Construction: Engecapo

All images © Jomar Bragança

All drawings © TETRO Arquitetura.

> via TETRO Arquitetura

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