Plano House by Daniel Carvalho Arquiteto
Plano House sets a low, confident line against the greens of Morro do Chapéu Golf Club in Nova Lima, Brazil, by Daniel Carvalho Arquiteto. Designed as a single-story house for a couple over 60, it folds around a protected courtyard and opens every room to the lawn for barefoot everyday living. The result is a home tuned to hosting, resting, and easy movement across one generous level.
Morning light slides across the lawn and into a quiet courtyard, catching on moledo stone and the warm slats of cumaru wood overhead. From the golf course, the roofline reads as a calm plane that slowly rises toward the front, where tall glazing pulls air and sky into the interior.
This is a single-story house designed for a couple over 60, planned as both social hub and retreat in the Morro do Chapéu Golf Club Condominium in Nova Lima. Daniel Carvalho Arquiteto arranges the residence in a U-shaped plan around an internal courtyard, with every room stepping directly onto the grass. Material choices and structural moves work together here, giving the house a grounded presence while keeping the living areas open, airy, and easy to navigate.
Shaping The Courtyard
The U-shaped layout folds the house around a central courtyard that looks toward the golf course yet remains protected from neighboring views. One wing holds the four suites, creating a quiet edge that faces the internal lawn. The opposite wing gathers garage, workshop, laundry, pet area, outdoor powder room, and fitness room, forming a more service-oriented bar that still keeps direct contact with the ground. Between them, the open social volume acts as a hinge, tying daily life to the courtyard and the wider landscape.
Mixed Structure, Clear Span
Two reinforced concrete blocks anchor the plan, with a lighter metal roof bridging between them in a single gesture. That roof seems to rest gently on the blocks, creating a large span for the central social area without intermediate supports that might break the view. Ceiling height rises here, giving the living rooms, professional-grade kitchen, gourmet veranda, and connected home office a generous vertical dimension. In contrast, the private and service wings sit under lower ceilings, which reinforces their more intimate or utilitarian roles.
Roof As Climate Tool
The central roof is built from thermoacoustic tiles, metal trusses, a cumaru wood slatted ceiling, and corten steel along the perimeter. Toward the back, it reads almost flat, keeping a discreet profile over the suites and support rooms. Moving toward the front façade, the roof gradually lifts away from the concrete blocks, opening a high band of glazing for natural ventilation and daylight. Tall windows along this gap let warm air rise out while bringing in soft light that plays across the wood and steel surfaces.
Stone, Steel, And Privacy
Moledo stone clads the front façade and acts as a visual anchor facing the street. That stone wall screens views into the courtyard and social rooms, so the house turns a composed, almost introverted face outward. Behind it, corten steel edges the lifted roofline and frames the high glass band in a sharper, more industrial register. The dialogue between rough stone, warm wood, and weathered metal gives the house a clear material character without relying on ornament.
Barefoot Indoor-Outdoor Life
Every room steps directly onto the ground, making the promise of a “barefoot on the grass” life into a daily habit rather than an occasional treat. The social core opens to a gourmet veranda and the internal courtyard, so gatherings can spill outward without a hard break between inside and outside. Private suites keep their own contact with the lawn, offering quiet views toward the course while maintaining distance from the social wing. Even the workshop, pet area, and fitness room stay connected to the exterior, reinforcing the idea of a house that breathes along its whole perimeter.
As the day cools, the courtyard draws in reflected light from stone, wood, and turf, while the raised roof band glows above the concrete blocks. Plano House holds firm to its structural lines yet stays relaxed in use, giving its owners a grounded setting for both family gatherings and unhurried everyday routines.
Photography courtesy of Daniel Carvalho Arquiteto
Visit Daniel Carvalho Arquiteto
