SN House by Studio Guilherme Torres
Studio Guilherme Torres have sent us images of the SN House they designed in Londrina, Brazil.
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Description from the architect:
Perfect for the leisure time of a large family, this house in Londrina, Brazil seems like its floating in the air. That is due to the volumetry and the large spans without pillars designed by the architect Guilherme Torres.
From the unevenness of nearly 3 meters of the ground, it came the idea of a residence with a cantilever main floor to reserve more space for the leisure area on the lower level. “I’ve docked the house on the slope” says the architect Guilherme Torres, “By doing that, I’ve released the space underneath it to the garden, the pool and the living rooms”. The irregular relief was won by a monumental block of prestressed concrete containing cables of high strength steel driven and trapped inside the slab itself. This feature allowed the span of 17.5 meters long besides the 4.5 meters cantilever volume beyond the wall that mark boundaries of the leisure area.
Suspended and without pillars, the construction brings straight, pure and simple forms. Contrasting with the white masonry, stone and wood coatings have the power to warm the look without breaking the contemporary twist of the proposal. “By being natural, they carry an amount of rusticity and promote comfort”, says the author. The independent functioning between the two storeys was another right solution. On a daily basis, the life of the family is concentrated on the upper floor, where it is distributed the bedrooms, the kitchen, a living and dining room, all accessed by the side ramp and garage on the upper hall. But on weekends, they enjoy to receive the large family in meetings on the spacious and comfortable leisure area with pool, garden, barbecue gourmet and two generous lounges.
The project considered the use of local labor and simple materials, used in large volumes. Decorative stone, exposed concrete and white masonry are the elements that define the whole volumetry.
The project uses rainwater capture for reuse and solar heating system for faucets, showers and pool. All the residence was designed considering the solar axis and natural profile of the terrain. To maintain the privacy while not giving up the view, the entire block of bedrooms has received a closure of wood louvers, and due to this feature the house can remain open windows and have permanent cross ventilation.
Visit the Studio Guilherme Torres website – here.
Photography by Denilson Machado
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shane on 10 Nov 2011 at 5:00 pm #
nice, would have liked to see more interior pics but whatever
gothicbacklash on 11 Nov 2011 at 12:08 am #
Crossed rectangles, slots and slabs ad mausoleum. The obligatory cantilever. There is absolutely nothing ‘floating’ or ‘rustic’ about this massively oppressive box pile. Sustainability measures are its only redeeming feature.
One day, this lowering threat of impending pancake state of a fad will end.
JP on 11 Nov 2011 at 7:45 am #
When I first saw Torres’s work, I was excited, and thought the houses as masterpieces of minimalism. However, I now only see the same design copied and pasted- cold uninviting, unlivable. With all that concrete, it might as well be some sort of fortress or bunker. The landscape is also terrible too. Brazil is blessed with a tropical climate and beautiful trees and shrubs, but the architects went and made it look like a New England swamp. The only design feature that is pleasing is the texture of the dry stone wall, but, other than that, I am dissapointed.
GS on 11 Nov 2011 at 9:14 am #
Brazil is a huge country with different climatic zones. In Londrina, Paraná, the climate is actually very different from Rio or Manaus.
daniel on 12 Nov 2011 at 1:42 am #
why is the main living area detached from the garden ? was this necessary ?
jasson kubrick on 12 Nov 2011 at 10:53 am #
The large gap formed by the volume of the rooms leads to the best of Brazilian architecture. The elegance of pure forms deserves, with plans defined by the application of materials. The garden formed only for trees will be bring to the house a spectacular effect in a few years. I love this project!
Kahn_2 on 13 Nov 2011 at 10:07 am #
Torres and Kogan are sharing the same style up to confusion and this is bad for both. This kind of architecture – impressive for some re-discovered purity, 2-3 years ago – becomes more and more a commonplace and a form without content.
ModernMan on 15 Nov 2011 at 10:16 am #
I thought for sure this was one of Marcio Kogan’s projects. I love it nonetheless. Would’ve been great to see some night shots.
@’gothicbacklash’ (…you wouldn’t happen to be Prince Charles, would you?)…anyway, look up Craig Ellwood, Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig and you’ll see this vernacular isn’t going away anytime soon.
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” ~Hans Hofmann
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~Leonardo DaVinci
PD on 16 Nov 2011 at 7:30 pm #
Very nice. I just would have kept the kitchen connected to the living space. Otherwise beautiful