Casa Franca by TFArq
Casa Franca is a modern concrete house located in Garopaba, Brazil, designed in 2021 by TFArq.
Description
The land for the single-family building is located on Praia da Gamboa (Garopaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil), next to a conservation area, where the view of the sea and nature will always be predominant. The Mares de Garopaba district is a calm destination full of natural landscapes, for residents and occasional tourists.
The name of the house came from the possibility of seeing North Atlantic Right Whales at certain times of the year. That’s why the terrace faces the sea and the morning sun, providing the chance to see them during your passage and stay on the Gamboa coast.
The look of the surroundings, the beach life, the natural environment and the rest served as inspiration for the development of the project. The landscape framing was taken into account in all environments, creating frames to appreciate nature through the interior of the house.
The building has two floors and, as it is also intended for rentals during the season, the spaces inside are compact, yet functional. The project brings the simplicity of life by the sea through contemporary and concise architecture.
The house is summarized in two initially rectangular volumes that overlap each other and create a small balance. They appear to be blocks of different finishes that have been casually stacked, facing the sea. The lower volume undergoes a triangular subtraction that makes the roof of the balcony on the first floor follow a diagonal, directing the gaze to the sea that extends into the horizon. A second rectangular subtraction on the first floor sometimes takes on the function of a bench, sometimes as a frame for the landscape of the green slope.
On the ground floor, the entrance leads to the living room, dining room and kitchen integrated in a single environment facing the open space outside. On this floor there is also the laundry room, a bathroom and the partially covered veranda. The veranda is equipped with a grill and gives access to the pool, lawn and pergola. Going up to the second floor, we find the large master suite and the multipurpose space equipped with a fireplace, upholstery and a telescope serving as an observatory, an intimate living room or a second bedroom, depending on the season’s occupants. Both the suite and the multipurpose room have access to the terrace that provides an incredible view of the sea and, for the interested observer, of the North Atlantic Right Whales at certain times of the year.
The first floor of the house was completely structured in exposed reinforced concrete, meticulously executed by local labor. The second floor is composed of pillars, beams and slabs of reinforced concrete and ceramic brick masonry as a fence, plastered and painted in white. The large window frames on the second floor are protected by wooden louvers, and the wood is also present in the building’s guardrails. The roof shelters the volume of the water reservoir and is lined with a green roof, seeking thermoacoustic insulation and attenuation of the intervention in the natural landscape.
Photography courtesy of TFArq
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- by Matt Watts
