GM House by Padovani Arquitetos
GM House settles into the hillside of Quinta da Baroneza, SP, Brazil, as a low horizontal house by Padovani Arquitetos for a young family. The project stretches along the natural slope, drawing the eye toward wide countryside views while a deep metal roof and warm materials pull everyday life outdoors. Inside and out, the architecture leans on clear lines and tactile surfaces to keep the setting at the center.
From the street, a thin roofline cuts across the sky while palm trees rise in front of a low brick wall. Below this edge, the house opens toward the valley with long terraces, shaded porches, and a glimmer of blue water catching the sun.
GM House is a single-family house in Quinta da Baroneza, SP, Brazil by Padovani Arquitetos, arranged along a pronounced natural slope. The architects work with the terrain: the volume sits slightly below street level, stretches horizontally, and keeps every main room oriented toward the countryside view. A wide metal roof pulls social and private wings into one composition, while courtyards, gardens, and terraces keep the landscape threaded through daily routines.
Entering The Plateau
Arrival happens on a flat plateau, the only point where street and house share a level. A gap between the social and private blocks forms the entrance, with the sky visible straight ahead and a hint of landscape beyond drawing visitors inward. This void reads as a calm outdoor room, edged by glass and stone, where planted beds and smooth paving soften the transition from neighborhood to hillside.
Crossing this threshold, the organization becomes clear. One wing holds the more intimate rooms, the other concentrates living, cooking, and gathering areas, and all of it remains tied together by the continuous roof above.
Life Along The Roofline
The oversized metal roof gives the house its strong horizontal presence and generous shade. Slender columns carry this plane, freeing broad spans of glass so interiors and terraces read almost as one extended platform. Underneath, a warm wood soffit runs unbroken from indoor lounges to open verandas, making movement along the façade feel fluid and protected. On hot days, the depth of this overhang cuts glare while still allowing long diagonal strips of light across the floor.
Within this sheltered band, furnishings stay low and relaxed, oriented toward the view rather than inward. Brick and stone walls bracket the social areas, grounding the lightweight roof and adding texture at the edges of vision.
Courtyards, Terraces, Pool
Strategic perforations in the roof create open-air pockets planted with palms and gravel beds. These courtyards bring daylight and air into the depth of the plan, so corridors never feel closed or remote. Large sliding glass panels look onto these planted voids, giving quiet internal vistas that balance the dramatic long view down the slope.
Toward the valley, the house steps down into a sequence of terraces. A timber deck wraps a pool lined in blue tiles, with water stretched along the contour and a sunken fire pit set into the lower platform. Families can swim, sit by the fire, or walk along the edge of the lawn without losing contact with each other or the distant hills.
Evening On The Slope
As daylight softens, the house glows under the broad roof, with light washing the soffit and catching the trunks of the palm trees. Steps down the hillside double as seating, facing both the illuminated pool and the darkening landscape beyond. From the sand court at the lowest level back up to the entrance plateau, each level keeps a clear view line so the topography remains legible.
By treating the slope as a partner rather than an obstacle, GM House turns everyday movement into a steady walk between rooms, terraces, and open sky. The project leaves a measured impression of calm horizontal lines, warm tactile surfaces, and wide Brazilian light held gently under a single floating roof.
Photography courtesy of Padovani Arquitetos
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