Trellis House by Terra Capobianco
Trellis House is a two-story modern house located in the Alto de Pinheiros district of São Paulo, Brazil. Designed in 2020 by Terra Capobianco and Galeria Arquitetos, the 464 m² (4997 ft²) property features an innovative design that integrates the building with the landscape.
The house has been awarded the Silver certificate by the Green Building Council Brasil for its sustainable construction, which includes photovoltaic panels and a water tank filled with reuse water. With its vertical slatted shutters made of autoclaved and carbonized pine, sliding glass panels, and a self-supporting panel of tongue and groove, Trellis House is the perfect blend of modern design, sustainability, and comfort.
About Trellis House
Casa Treliça (Trellis House), a 464 m² (4,986.63 ft²) building in Alto de Pinheiros district, São Paulo, was designed by the architectural firms Terra Capobianco and Galeria Arquitetos. The project focused on taking full advantage of the 533.35 m² (5,737.03 ft²) lot by creating a large space that was fully integrated into the landscape.
Constructive Systems for Maximum Efficiency
The project was implemented with a program of needs to maximize land occupation. To accomplish this, three metallic trusses were used: two at the longitudinal ends of the main volume, allowing a 15-meter (49.21 ft) span, free of supports, in the social area; and the third one in the transversal direction of the total land width, configuring the suspended volume of the shed, with 14 meters (45.93 ft) of free span.
Minimal Obstructions for Uninterrupted Visual Use
The visual use of the lot is uninterrupted. Less than 1/5 of the first-floor area has opaque fences, which produces a sense of spaciousness – further enhanced by the 3-meter (9.84 ft) high ceiling. This allows the living and dining rooms to be completely opened with sliding glass panels, allowing full integration with the veranda, pool, and garden. A molded-in-place concrete tread path runs through the garden to the leisure area, with a sauna and barbecue grill located under the trellis of the stables.
A Metal Staircase and Flexible Suites
Positioned in the ground floor social area, a metal staircase leads to the first floor, where the trellis is revealed in the backlight of the translucent thermoclick material (polycarbonate sheeting). A common room distributes to the four suites. Two of them were designed in a flexible way, initially serving the resident couple, with two bathrooms, two closets, a bedroom, and an intimate room. The first floor of the edicula houses the fitness room and the guest suite. The bedrooms face east and west, and have vertical slatted shutters made of autoclaved and carbonized pine, a material that guarantees durability. On the north façade, the thermoclick guarantees thermal resistance, besides the agility of assembly with a self-supporting panel of tongue and groove. The four faces delimit a single rectangular volume of double façade, dismountable and efficient.
Award-Winning Sustainable Construction
The constructive solutions, along with other aspects of the project, ensured that Casa Treliça was awarded the Silver certificate by the Green Building Council Brasil, a national reference in sustainable construction. The residence is equipped with photovoltaic panels, installed on the main block and the shed, in addition to a water tank filled with reuse water, intended exclusively for toilets. The house also has automated rainwater irrigation for the garden.
Photography by Trellis House
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- by Matt Watts
