Studio Guilherme Torres has designed a residence based on the habits and rhythm of its inhabitants. This white modernist slick building records the everyday life of the family on two levels: During the week the family has a private routine accommodated in an ‘L’ shape on the first level. The slab cantilevers beyond the wall of the ground floor area that marks the boundaries of the leisure area enjoyed by the family and its guests during the weekend.

‘Perfect for the leisure time of a large family, this house in Londrina, Brazil seems like its floating in the air. That is due to the volumetry and the large spans without pillars designed by the architect Guilherme Torres.
From the unevenness of nearly 3 meters of the ground, came the idea of a residence with a cantilever main floor to reserve more space for the leisure area on the lower level. ‘I’ve docked the house on the slope’ says the architect Guilherme Torres, ‘By doing that I’ve released the space underneath it to the garden, the pool and the living rooms’. The irregular relief was won by a monumental block of prestressed concrete containing cables of high strength steel driven and trapped inside the slab itself. This feature allowed the span of 17.5 meters long besides the 4.5 meters cantilever volume beyond the wall that mark boundaries of the leisure area.
Suspended and without pillars, the construction brings straight, pure and simple forms. Contrasting with the white masonry, stone and wood coatings have the power to warm the look without breaking the contemporary twist of the proposal. ‘By being natural, they carry an amount of rusticity and promote comfort’, says the author. The independent functioning between the two storeys was another right solution. On a daily basis, the life of the family is concentrated on the upper floor, where it is distributed the bedrooms, the kitchen, a living and dining room, all accessed by the side ramp and garage on the upper hall. But on weekends, they enjoy to receive the large family in meetings on the spacious and comfortable leisure area with pool, garden, barbecue gourmet and two generous lounges.
The project considered the use of local labor and simple materials, used in large volumes. Decorative stone, exposed concrete and white masonry are the elements that define the whole volumetry.
The project uses rainwater capture for reuse and solar heating system for faucets, showers and pool. All the residence was designed considering the solar axis and natural profile of the terrain. To maintain the privacy while not giving up the view, the entire block of bedrooms has received a closure of wood louvers, and due to this feature the house can remain open windows and have permanent cross ventilation.’

ARCHITECT: Studio Guilherme Torres, São Paulo & Londrina, Brazil. LOCATION: Londrina, Brazil. DESCRIPTION: residential. STATUS: completed. PROJECT TEAM: Guilherme Torres, Celso Oshiro, Jean Oliveira, Rafael Miliari, Raphael Lima, Vanessa Bercini. AREA: 843 sqm. DATE: 2011. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.