Colina House: A Big House with Concrete Walls and Solid Brick Walls

With 520 sqm in size, this house offers a comfortable living place in Brazil. Colina House is a 2020 residential project completed by Bloco Arquitetos. The highlight of this house is the external surfaces which are composed of solid brick walls and load-bearing concrete walls.

Design

This house construction is implemented on the existing landfill’s highest level. The “U” plan organization can define two wings. These wings are interspersed with a central access garden. Most of the existing trees in the rest of the lot are relocated or kept.

The positions of two large flamboyants and two “ipês” direct the front setbacks of the building’s two wings. These wings are positioned according to the criteria of privacy and solar orientation. The ends are “suspended” due to the slopes in the front portion of the land.

Materials

The frames have a boundary line that marks a difference in treatment between the external materials of the house and internal materials. These external materials are subject to the weather such as dust, sun, and rain while the internal materials are closer to the house’s residents.

Concrete and solid brick are materials that will even look better with the passage of time. For the internal parts of the house, the architect mostly uses “fragile” materials such as painted walls, ceilings, and natural wood panels.

Colina House Gallery

Photographer: Haruo Mikami