Biribinhas House Landscaping

Fernando Guerra

• Landscape Architects

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Situated on Iporanga Beach, in Guarujá – one of the rare stretches of the São Paulo coastline where the Atlantic Forest still appears dense and well preserved – Biribinhas House emerges amid tropical vegetation as a retreat oriented toward gathering and the slowed rhythm of life by the sea.

With architectural design by Studio MK27 and landscape design by Rodrigo Oliveira Paisagismo, the residence begins from an existing condition: the owners had already occupied the site for about ten years in a previous house built on the same lot. The decision to demolish the original structure and develop a new residence was accompanied by an important regulatory constraint. Located within a condominium governed by highly restrictive rules, the project had to strictly respect the previously approved built areas, maintaining almost the same footprint as the original construction.

photo_credit Fernando Guerra — Fernando Guerra

This initial context directly influenced both architectural and landscape decisions. Set on a corner lot and defined by a contemporary language, open and extensively glazed, the new residence presented a central challenge: how to build transparency, permeability, and integration with the landscape without compromising the residents’ privacy. In this scenario, the landscape design developed by Rodrigo Oliveira plays a structuring role within the proposal, not merely as a complementary element, but as a fundamental layer of the spatial experience of the house.

From this premise, the garden was conceived as a kind of domestic forest – dense, immersive, and continuous – capable of dissolving the boundaries between architecture and nature while also protecting the interiors from external views. The vegetation thus operates as a filter, shelter, and mediator. Rather than simply framing the architecture, it envelops it, bringing it closer to the coastal landscape and creating an atmosphere of constant immersion.

The landscape concept developed by Rodrigo Oliveira and his team sought to construct a sense of spontaneous naturalness, as if the garden had always belonged to the site. Instead of overly designed or hierarchical compositions, the proposal favors looser plant groupings at varying heights and densities, capable of visually echoing the organic logic of the surrounding Atlantic Forest. Native and tropical species predominate, forming vegetated masses that shift between more enclosed, shaded areas and points of greater visual openness.

This approach reinforces one of the core qualities of Studio MK27’s architecture: the creation of paths and atmospheres through the relationship between weight and lightness, openness and containment, shadow and brightness. At Biribinhas House, the ground floor is almost entirely transparent. A delicate glass envelope organizes the social areas, allowing living rooms, verandas, and communal spaces to open fully to the garden. At this level, the landscape is no longer only viewed, but becomes part of everyday experience.

The vegetation near the glass enclosures acts as an extension of the interiors. Tropical foliage of varying scales and textures approaches the architecture, softening its edges and reflecting across the transparent façade surfaces. At certain times of day, the overlap of reflections, shadows, and vegetation makes it difficult to distinguish precisely where interior ends and exterior begins.

At the center of the architectural composition, a more opaque volume concentrates the kitchen and service areas, acting as a counterpoint to the lightness of the rest of the plan. Around this core, the garden organizes exterior circulation and accompanies the living areas. Stone pathways embedded within the vegetation guide movement gradually, revealing new perspectives of the house along the way.

The corner-lot condition required special attention to the boundaries of the site. In these areas, the landscape becomes denser and taller, creating visual barriers that preserve the privacy of the residence without relying on rigid or overly constructed solutions. Instead of dominant walls, Rodrigo Oliveira proposes vegetal layers that filter views, light, and wind in a more natural and porous way.

At the same time, the proximity to the coastline guided choices related both to species selection and to the overall atmosphere of the garden. The intention was not to create an ornamental or excessively tropicalized landscape, but rather a composition capable of dialoguing with the native vegetation of the region. The garden was conceived as a domesticated extension of the coastal forest surrounding the condominium.

This sense of continuity also appears in the materiality of the house. The interiors are developed in soft, neutral tones, predominantly variations of beige, wood, and finely textured mineral surfaces. The pebble flooring, used in different areas of the residence, brings the tactile experience of architecture closer to the texture of sand and natural ground. In this context, the landscape does not act as contrast, but as an extension of these material qualities.

On the upper floor, a long horizontal volume appears to float above the vegetation. The more enclosed structure houses the bedrooms and establishes a different relationship with the surroundings. Even so, the presence of vegetation remains constant. The biribinhas canopy – formed by thin branches that filter light, and which give the house its name – casts shifting shadows across the wooden surfaces and creates an intermediate ambiance between inside and outside.

The movable panels reinforce this condition of transition. By modulating solar incidence, ventilation, and privacy, these elements make the relationship with the landscape dynamic throughout the day. When open, they allow wind to flow freely through the upper spaces and reveal fragmented views of the vegetation. When closed, they create a more introspective and shaded atmosphere, bringing the spatial experience closer to the sensation of being under a tree canopy.

Light plays an essential role in constructing these atmospheres. Throughout the day, shadows cast by the vegetation and filtering elements continuously transform the spaces. The garden actively participates in this dynamic, both through the movement of leaves in the wind and through the way vegetation intercepts and diffuses natural light before it reaches the interiors.

In the outdoor areas, the landscape organizes different situations of use and occupation. Near the social areas, the vegetation takes on a more open and fluid character, allowing visual integration between terraces, pool, and garden. In other sections, especially along the property boundaries, the vegetated masses become denser, creating a sense of retreat and protection.

The swimming pool is inserted into this context almost as a clearing within the vegetation. Its surroundings privilege medium-height species and tropical foliage that soften the presence of mineral surfaces and reinforce the sense of immersion. Rather than forming an isolated contemplative space, the garden establishes continuous connections between all areas of the residence.

Walking through the property, the experience is marked less by monumental gestures and more by subtle spatial transitions: the change in scale between open areas and sheltered sections; the alternation between dense shade and direct sunlight; the gradual approach of vegetation to interior spaces. The path thus becomes a central element of the landscape proposal.

At Biribinhas House, the landscape design by Rodrigo Oliveira emerges as a mediator between scales, transparency, and the density of the Atlantic Forest. Here, the garden establishes an enveloping atmosphere where nature and built matter coexist in balance.