Reinach Mendonça designs CM Residence as a light timber pavilion

Three hours north-east of São Paulo and over 1,000 metres up in the lush araucaria forests of the Serra de Mantiqueira mountains, the cool, temperate climate of Santo Antônio do Pinhal offers a welcome relief from the city’s steamy summer heat. It’s a popular weekend destination in what’s sometimes called the Brazilian Switzerland, and here, on a steep hillside above the town, Reinach Mendonça Arquitetos has built a cleverly planned house that takes full advantage of the fresh air and mountain views.
Designed for a doctor and her husband, a retired businessman, the CM Residence takes the form of an airy wooden pavilion that sits elegantly on a solid stone-clad base. Though the main composition is strongly horizontal, a staircase tower adds a touch of verticality, projecting above the roofline to support a tank for supplementary water.
The ground floor is approached from higher ground at the back, with a simple porte cochère to shield the service entrance from the rain. Beyond that the main entrance leads into a central corridor that runs along the spine of the house, with a staff flat, kitchen and media room off to one side.
The house sits in Sao Paulo state's Serra de Mantiqueira mountains.
On the other side, where the ground falls steeply away to give a wide panorama of the mountains, Reinach Mendonça has created an interlinked series of light-filled rooms, beginning with a sheltered outdoor deck and dining area, divided by sliding glass doors from a double-height dining room and, beyond that, the open-plan living room, with a continuous outside terrace that wraps around the side.
Downstairs are a pair of guest bedrooms, while the upper floor is devoted to the couple’s private quarters, comprising a large bedroom and bathroom, with a gallery looking down into the dining room below and a home office in the corner beyond. A long, covered balcony runs the entire length of the front, but is shaded from intense sunlight and prying eyes by slatted screens at either end.
The house has a feel of warm sophistication, thanks to the contrast between the rich browns of the eucalyptus-wood floors and screens and the raw concrete of the staircase and kitchen areas. It’s the kind of contrast one finds in many contemporary Swiss ski lodges, which seems appropriate for the Brazilian Switzerland – though few alpine chalets boast a plunge pool on their terrace.
The structure takes the shape of a light, wooden pavilion.
The main composition is horizontal, with some key elements grounded in stone.
However the house's main body and its most impressive parts feature eucalyptus-wood floors and screens.
Large openings bring the long views of nature inside.
Elsewhere, a concrete staircase connects the different levels inside.
An outdoor kitchen makes dining al fresco easy.
Open balconies and terraces visually connect different levels in this impressive composition.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Reinach Mendonça website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Watches & Wonders 2025: preview Richemont’s latest innovations, on show at the Geneva watch fair
Discover eight enticing timepieces from the luxury group, showcased this week at the Geneva fair
By Simon Mills Published
-
Masters of midcentury modern design and their creations spotlighted in new book
‘Mid-Century Modern Designers’ is a new book from Phaidon celebrating those who shaped the period and their notable creations, from furniture to objects
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Drafting nine international artists, Gucci’s ‘90 x 90’ project transforms its silk scarf into a creative canvas
Part of Gucci’s ‘The Art of Silk’ initiative, the project sees nine artists riff on the Italian fashion house’s most memorable motifs, from lush depictions of flora and fauna to its signature horsebit
By Jack Moss Published
-
The new MASP expansion in São Paulo goes tall
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) expands with a project named after Pietro Maria Bardi (the institution's first director), designed by Metro Architects
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
An Upstate Sao Paulo house embraces calm and the surrounding rolling hills
BGM House, an Upstate Sao Paulo house by Jacobsen Arquitetura, is a low, balanced affair making the most of its rural setting
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Step inside the secret sanctuary of Rua Polonia House in São Paulo
Rua Polonia House by Gabriel Kogan and Guilherme Pianca together with Clara Werneck is an urban sanctuary in the bustling Brazilian metropolis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
São Paulo's Pacaembu stadium gets a makeover: we go behind the scenes with architect Sol Camacho
Pacaembu stadium, a São Paulo sporting icon, is being refurbished; the first phase is now complete, its architect Sol Camacho takes us on a tour
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
Tour 18 lesser-known modernist houses in South America
We swing by 18 modernist houses in South America; architectural writer and curator Adam Štěch leads the way in discovering these lesser-known gems, discussing the early 20th-century movement's ideas and principles
By Adam Štěch Published
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie Stathaki
The top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Restoring São Paulo: Planta’s mesmerising Brazilian brand of midcentury ‘urban recycling’
Brazilian developer Planta Inc set out to restore São Paulo’s historic centre and return it to the heyday of tropical modernism
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
All aboard Casa Quinta, floating in Brazil’s tropical rainforest
Casa Quinta by Brazilian studio Arquipélago appears to float at canopy level in the heart of the rainforest that flanks the picturesque town of Paraty on the coast between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
By Rainbow Nelson Published