What If the Structure Is the Architecture?
Enlevo House, in Paraná, Brazil, was commissioned by a couple of entrepreneurs.
They asked for a residence that would provide complete privacy from the neighbors, a spacious, functional, a naked architecture. In addition to the large glazed openings and exposed concrete, the layout of the spaces contributes to a fluid circulation.
Through the use of exposed, board-formed concrete structures and cantilevered walls, free, open spaces were created across three levels, establishing a harmonious relationship with the site’s rugged, angular topography. The orientation of the three floors is by no means arbitrary; rather, it derives from the possibilities for making the best use of the residence, as all the areas opening into verandas and gardens face a lush green view of the farm bordering the rear of the property. We have also conducted a thorough study of the strategic paths of sunlight across the site in relation to the design, as well as of natural ventilation. According to the residents, these considerations have provided both the interior and exterior spaces with pleasant sensations.
When the structure establishes the rules of the Design, Architecture no longer depends on aesthetic supplements and finds Strength in the Essential
This Structure, of radical geometric forms, rotates around the axis formed by the Stair/Elevator module. As a result, the Ground Floor is regular in form, composed of two perpendicular bars, one of which runs parallel to the property’s front boundary and houses a large Living Room and veranda. Along the entire length of this nearly 20-meter-long Living Room, a freestanding, cantilevered board-formed concrete wall approximately 25 meters long was designed, set at a 30-degree angle from the Ground Floor axis. Yet this wall is by no means gratuitous.
Although its spans and cantilevers play with our perspectives, it accommodates a garden with trees rising from the floor below, creating beautiful natural light and effective cross-ventilation for the living room and the veranda on the opposite side of the wall. It providing the privacy so desired by the residents.
The other bar of the Ground Floor runs parallel to the property's right boundary and contains the kitchen, a gourmet area, and a veranda. The Upper Floor also rotates another 30 degrees from the Ground Floor axis, but towards the rear. Therefore, it sits on the Ground Floor, while the triangles created by this rotation form verandas at the ground floor level, one of them particularly spacious.
The upper floor comprises two larger bars than those on the Ground Floor, likewise arranged perpendicularly, and accommodates four suites, a terrace, a TV room, and an office.
As the site has varying elevations along all four property boundaries, the lower floor is partially at street level and then gradually extends into the land until reaching its highest point, where the Ground Floor is located. This level houses the service areas, storage rooms, a garage with a water mirror, a cellar, and a spa, the latter positioned at ground level.
