Casa Superlimão

Pavilion of the Year - Temporary

Longlisted

Israel Gollino

• Architects

Casa Superlimão is part of the program for the first edition of BAB (Brazilian Architecture Biennial), which takes place from March 25 to April 30 at Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo. Located in the outdoor area of the marquee, between the Brazilian Cultures Pavilion and the Afro Brazil Museum, the structure will be open to the public free of charge. In this project, the research explores the diverse ways of building in Brazil, integrating vernacular knowledge and contemporary technologies through the relationship between architecture, territory, and climate, in direct dialogue with the themes proposed by BAB.

This articulation is expressed in the very conception of the project, which adopts a hexagonal design as a spatial structure that combines the rationality of the square form with the structural efficiency of the circular form, bringing the house closer to recurring patterns in nature.

photo_credit Israel Gollino — Israel Gollino

For Lula Gouveia, architect and partner at Superlimão, the project proposes looking toward the future of construction based on knowledge accumulated over time. “Architecture has always responded to the climate, the territory, and the available conditions. Many solutions we now call traditional emerged from this constructive intelligence. The project revisits this knowledge and places it in dialogue with current technologies.” Among the strategies adopted is the use of a raised floor, a solution found in different regions of Brazil, from the stilt houses of the north—adapted to flood-prone areas—to the elevated houses of the south, used to protect against the cold. In addition to serving as protection, the system creates a ventilation layer beneath the building, contributing to thermal comfort and reducing the impact on the terrain by preserving soil permeability. In the project, this base is constructed using reclaimed wood, incorporating a material that carries a past history and gains a new cycle of use.

Research into construction systems extends to structural elements. The columns are produced using 3D concrete printing, a technique still rarely used in Brazil and explored in this project as part of an emerging field of digital fabrication; they are based on a biomimetic approach inspired by the cross-section of a banana leaf stalk. In this natural structure, cavities and fibers are organized to balance lightness and strength, a principle that guides the design of the columns. Based on this logic, the elements adopt a honeycomb configuration, which allows for a reduction in material volume without compromising structural performance, resulting in lighter, stronger, and more resource-efficient components. Digital fabrication enables this system by allowing for the precise positioning of material, applied only where necessary, incorporating a technology that is still in the process of widespread adoption and that expands the range of construction possibilities. In this sense, the project begins to test and incorporate emerging technologies as experiments, linking historical references with research on the future of construction.

In addition to reducing cement consumption and, consequently, the environmental impact, the internal cavities also make it possible to integrate infrastructure and plumbing systems within the structural elements themselves. “Biomimicry guides the design by looking to nature as a model of resource efficiency. By incorporating these principles, architecture begins to work with less material, less waste, and greater performance, aligning construction and sustainability in an integrated way,” says the architect. On the roof, the house adopts a reciprocal structure made of engineered wood, in which each piece supports and is supported by the others, forming an interdependent system that better distributes structural loads.

Inspired by patterns found in the arrangement of leaves and flowers, this configuration results in a lightweight yet sturdy structure. “It’s a system in which all parts work together. There is a collective logic to the structure, very similar to what we see in nature.”

As for the side walls, the design incorporates a recurring element of Brazilian architecture—the cobogó—which allows air and light to pass through and promotes constant cross-ventilation. The walls are composed of recycled PET wool panels, which combine waste reuse with thermal and acoustic performance, while in the opaque areas, they are finished with earth-based paint, allowing the surfaces to function as breathable walls and contribute to the regulation of internal humidity. These strategies create an efficient environment in which cross-ventilation is complemented by a central skylight, which increases the influx of natural light and facilitates the escape of hot air.

At the same time, the design enhances the relationship between interior and exterior by highlighting the view of the park framed by the windows and cobogós, incorporating it directly into the spatial experience. Despite its contemporary language, the design engages with recognizable references from Brazilian architecture, evoking structures such as indigenous huts, bandstands in small towns, and open, permeable vernacular buildings. “The idea was to create something with which any Brazilian could identify, regardless of the region where they live,” says Lula.

By bringing together traditional techniques, natural systems, and digital technologies, Casa Superlimão encapsulates the Biennial’s proposed reflection and points toward a Brazilian architecture that views the territory, the climate, and vernacular knowledge not as a past to be overcome, but an active repertoire, capable of updating itself and taking on new forms through the technologies and tools of the present, including approaches such as biomimicry, which bring construction closer to more efficient logics integrated with nature, while simultaneously expanding the field of research on the future of architecture.

Team:

Architecture: Superlimão

Architecture Team: Antonio Carlos Figueira de Mello, Diogo Matsui, ináia Botura, Leticia Domingues, Leticia Reis, Lula Gouveia, Thiago Rodrigues, Vitória Mendes.

Landscape: Kawai Garden

Project management: Pasqua & Graziano Associados

Construction management: Edifisa Engenharia

Other participants: Instituto de Engenharia

Audio and video: Vshhh

Photographer: Israel Gollino