TM House by Studio Arthur Casas
This contemporary private residence designed in 2013 by Studio Arthur Casas is situated in Recife, Brazil.
Description by Studio Arthur Casas
This house is located in a remote beach in Northeastern Brazil. The owners wished to have it built in a small part of their 6.000 square meters plot in order to have enough free space for their children and grandchildren to build their own houses in the future.
This project is the juxtaposition of two simple volumes, with common areas in the ground floor and bedrooms in the first floor. In order to have a better view of the sea the house was lifted 1.20 meters above the plot. Wood was employed in most of the spaces to highlight the atmosphere of casualness proper to a beach house.
The structure made of prestressed beams has a large span of 18.5 meters, close to that of some bridges, reinforcing the integration with the horizontality of the landscape. Glass doors completely slide inside the walls to achieve total fusion between interior and exterior. The wooden volume of the first floor houses the bedrooms and is enveloped with folding doors that integrate them with a large terrace oriented towards the beach.
The difficult access, particularly during rainy winters in the region, rendered more complex the building process. Local unskilled labor demanded constant revisions to simplify details. The transport of the prestressed beams and the glass doors imported from Portugal required particular attention to logistics.
Interior design aimed to dialogue with the great horizontal lines of architecture, with objects that seek organic and soft shapes. The clients host many parties and the layout was conceived to have various seating areas, such as the two large tables in the terrace made of wood trunks. Photographs by Leonardo Kossoy bring the intense blue of the sea inside the living room and local craftwork pieces add up to the Brazilianess of the space. Furniture blends antiques bought in New York, such as the string chair, with Italian objects and millwork designed by the Studio. To avoid the action of corrosive sea air, the structure of the furniture was executed in stainless steel.
Landscape design by Renata Tilli aimed to create privacy for the family and connect the house to the beach through a sinuous path. Local species were mixed with plants adapted to the harsh climate. The vegetation enhances the connection between inside and outside, playing with the strong equatorial light that underlines colors and textures.
Photography by Leonardo Finotti
- by Matt Watts
