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Architects: Zoom Urbanismo, Arquitetura e Design
- Area: 4843 ft²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Maíra Acayaba
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Manufacturers: AF Vidros, Bosch, Carpintería, Empreiteira NJL, Granitorre, Guga Pedras, Jales Calhas, Ladrilar, Martpisos, Max Maia, Max Ply, Modelar, Neorex, Solargrid, Tropo Bella, Visual Mobile
Text description provided by the architects. The Eaves House renovation aimed to adequate a pre-owned family house in a traditional neighborhood of São Paulo to the reality of their grandson’s newly formed family. Thus, the project needed to be flexible to predict its growth and changes throughout the time. There was also a desire to privilege intimate spaces for family time besides social spaces to gather friends for meals or cocktails.
Before the renovation, the house had its rooms divided into three different floors: the ground floor for access, an intermediary floor with the living room and the kitchen and finally the bedrooms’ floor. In other words: the more you distance yourself from the street, the more you get into the house intimacy - and we’ve chosen to keep the logic for the renovation. In the new project, the access floor holds an office and a TV room, spaces which work independently from the rest of the residence; the intermediary floor holds the social spaces, such as the living and dining rooms, the kitchen and the pool. And finally, in the upper floor are located the bedrooms and a new extra floor that will fit two more rooms in the future.
Modern meets antique through the roofing structure. Its generous wood eave connects third and fourth floors, forming a unique tilted plan. The roof tilted plan, altogether with the concrete eaves are the most notorious elements in the façades. That is why we named it “Eaves House”.
The mashrabiya-like window screens – a traditional Islamic architectural element, resignified and commonly used in Brazilian architecture – are another attractive element in the façade. They fit for two kinds of purposes: the bedrooms needed natural light, but also required more privacy due to their large openings. The wood screens enabled a better adjustment to both light and visibility: when the screens are closed, those who are inside the room can see outside the window, but the inverse does not occur. Furthermore, as the screens are permeable, they allow a permanent natural ventilation even when they are closed.
The owner has spent most of his childhood in this house. Therefore, the renovation aimed to preserve its memory, maintaining a nostalgic feel to it. That is why we chose to keep many of the original elements: the old wooden roof framing over the dining room was exposed and reinforced and the fireplace’s brick wall was revealed. The combination of brick and wood makes warm and welcoming environments.
Fire is the main element in the intermediary floor rooms - as in primitive history, people would gather together around a source of fire. The wood fired oven inside the house was one of the client’s dream. A place where they could truly enjoy the experience of baking and cooking, whilst not being physically segregated from the rest of the floor.
The oven is located in the middle of the kitchen and the dining room and it is not separated by any walls, making a soft transition between the two ambiances. The fireplace, in the room right next to the kitchen, is more of a contemplative space, but also provides a cozy atmosphere for sharing and relaxing moments. The large window behind the fireplace is faced to a beautiful green wall, involving the viewer in its energy.
Just as it happens in the living room, the connection between inside and outside is one of the main design virtues in the Eaves House. The dining room is surrounded by three generous glass doors, from where you have a privileged view of the garden, the new wooden deck and the swimming pool. More than a residence, the Eaves House is a place to cherish old memories and construct new stories together.
