Brazil’s finest modernist homes

Country living: Fazenda Boa Vista
by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos

Located in São Paulo, Fazenda Boa Vista is not your typical country home. Designed and created as an abode that was at once open, lightweight and integrated with the landscape, it also appears sleek and luxurious. Completed in 2015 after two years of work, the steel-framed former farmhouse follows the shape of the surrounding terrain. The result is an elegant, earthen-toned 700 sq m house in wood, glass and stone.

Writer: Elena Wong, Alix Biehler. 

Find out more about Fazenda Boa Vista here

Country living: Fazenda Boa Vista
by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos

The home is designed with a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces, creating a flow from the living rooms to the open-air pool and garden. The architect explains that, 'The cross ventilation system implemented throughout the area, combined with the fully-opening glass panes of the façade create a seamless transition between indoors and outdoors'

Find out more about Fazenda Boa Vista here

Pure minimalism: Casa Redux
by Marcio Kogan

Appearing to float above the slopes of Bragança Paulista, just one hour's drive north of São Paulo, Casa Redux encapsulates the idea of a dream retreat. The project brief was simple: to design a vacation house with the least lines and elements possible. Facing west onto the soft hilly landscape at its feet and respecting the topography's natural contours, the house sits at the area's highest point.

Writer: Catarina De Almeida Brito, Alix Biehler

Find out more about Casa Redux here

Pure minimalism: Casa Redux
by Marcio Kogan

The house is made of two equally-sized concrete horizontal slabs. One acts as the floor – elevated half a metre off the earth, so that it gives the impression of lightly hovering above ground – and the other is the roof. All the house’s functions operate in-between, within a large open plan area

Find out more about Casa Redux here

Modular home: Sliding Pergolas House
by FGMF Architects

Brazilian architecture firm FGMF, selected for the 2009 Wallpaper* Architects Directory, likes to experiment with exposed frames and different construction methods. The Sliding Pergolas House, in upstate São Paulo, is a dynamic contemporary abode with an adaptable roof and offers unusual solutions that push boundaries of technology whilst retaining traditional design details.

Writer: Ellie Stathaki, Alix Biehler

Find out more about Sliding Pergolas House here

Modular home: Sliding Pergolas House
by FGMF Architects

The new residence continues to explore the concepts of a previous project by the architects (Tic Tac House), which was inspired by the clock and its 'constant need to change', translating them into an everyday living environment

Find out more about Sliding Pergolas House here

Outdoor/Indoor: AB House
by Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados

Located in the city of São Paulo, AB House takes advantage of its integration with nature, keeping a clear relationship with the 1,500 sq m park around it. The structure of the glass volume was conceived to float on the garden. Supported by a central pillar of reinforced concrete, the structural elements also host the circulation.

Writer: Alix Biehler

Find out more about AB House here

Outdoor/Indoor: AB House
by Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados

The connection between the horizontal plans and the pillars is strengthened by voids around the structure, used to bring natural light into the house as well as creating semi-indoor/outdoor spaces

Find out more about AB House here

Permanent vacation: AL House
by Arthur Casas

Based on the idea of a 'permanent vacation', the house is designed to accommodate the owner's needs and lifestyle, as well as his wish for a place of tranquility. The architect used warm Brazilian teak, known as cumaru, for the flooring and sandstone for the exterior walls.

Writer: David Lisbon, Alix Biehler

Find out more about AL House here

Permanent vacation: AL House
by Arthur Casas

AL House is perched on a hillside, with its internal level arrangement following the slope. The pool and patio were both built on the top of a retaining wall, offering striking views of the Rio de Janeiro river and the wider state's countryside and surrounding forests

Find out more about AL House here

Perfect poise: Ramp House
by MK27 studio

'The inspiration for this house,' says Renata Furlanetto of studio MK27, 'was the client's art collection and a ramp’. The explanation sounds almost like a throwaway line, but its reification is a solid, three-dimensional house in a quiet, leafy São Paulo neighbourhood.

Writer: Daven Wu, Alix Biehler. 

Find out more about Ramp House here

Perfect poise: Ramp House
by MK27 studio

The living room, invariably the focus of the Brazilian architect's attention, is an elongated right-angled volume sheathed in raw concrete that opens onto a sheltered 4m-wide verandah that, in turn, leads into a minimalist landscape

Find out more about Ramp House here

The best of modernism, Part 1: Jungle House
by MK27 Studio

Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan's dual residential projects share a similar expressive formality and rigour although one is placed in nature, while the other one is in the midst of the city. Jungle House is a family holiday retreat buried deep within dense vegetation on a coastal plot.

Writer: Jonathan Bell, Alix Biehler.

Find out more about Jungle House here

The best of modernism, Part 1: Jungle House
by MK27 Studio

Jungle House’s expansive roof deck appears to sail above the forest canopy, and features a firepit, pool, covered dining area and seamless glazing that allows the top floor to be opened up to the elements. Concrete is used expansively, but the house never feels brutal or oppressive, thanks to the lightness of the screens, the ever-present jungle and the generous floorplan

Find out more about Jungle House here

The best of modernism, Part 2: SPenthouse
by MK27 Studio

The SPenthouse sits at the summit of a new São Paulo apartment building offering spectacular views of the São Paulo skyline through cinematically proportioned windows.

Writer: Jonathan Bell, Alix Biehler.

Find out more about SPenthouse here

The best of modernism, Part 2: SPenthouse
by MK27 Studio

The penthouse’s defining space is the main living room, a double-height zone lined with vertiginous bookshelves.The apartment takes on the characteristics of a movie set, with its meticulous framing, use of concealed lighting and harmonious accumulation of midcentury and contemporary furnishings and artworks

Find out more about SPenthouse here

Sloping beauty: Casa Ubatuba
by SPBR 

Set on a sloping plot at the far end of Tenorio Beach in Ubatuba, a coastal resort in São Paulo, the site stretches right down to the sea shore, before ascending a 50 degree slope up to street level. 'These inspired the entire strategy used in the conception of the project,' says SPBR's Angelo Bucci.

Writer: Alix Biehler

Find out more about Casa Ubatuba here

Sloping beauty: Casa Ubatuba
by SPBR 

The house is arranged on multiple levels, creating unexpected and thrilling viewpoints from which the ocean and surrounding forest can be glimpsed. With the upper-floor terrace at street level connected by a bridge, visitors step down into the living areas, literally descending through the forest canopy encompassing them

Find out more about Casa Ubatuba here

Stylishly functional: Casa Mirante
by FGMF

Hidden within a condominium complex close to São Paulo, Casa Mirante is a vibrant, modern and highly functional family home, designed for a young couple with small children. On approaching the property from the exterior, the house appears discreet and understated at first glance, with its concrete and patinated steel structure, and black mortar façade.

Writer: Sara Sturges, Alix Biehler.

Find out more about Casa Mirante here

Stylishly functional: Casa Mirante
by FGMF

Greatly inspired by South American modernism, the interior of the house offers bright living spaces on the ground level – with the kitchen, laundry area, bathroom, living rooms and an infinity pool – as well as spacious courtyards

Find out more about Casa Mirante here

Towering presence: Casa JE
by UNA Architects

Located in Joanópolis, a small municipality a few hours north of São Paulo, this vacation house is designed on a single level with an exterior path, which leads to the street or the structure's flat green roof.

Writer: Alix Biehler

Find out more about Casa JE here

Towering presence: Casa JE
by UNA Architects

The architects' aim was to integrate the building within the landscape as much as possible. The result is a composition of heavy stone walls, created with locally-sourced materials and using indigenous techniques. These walls frame the structure and define a series of three inner interconnected courtyards that support the interior's natural ventilation system

Find out more about Casa JE here

Iconic renovated: Lausanne apartment block
by AR Architects

Originally created by German architect Franz Heep in 1958, the Lausanne apartment building, in São Paulo is a timeless midcentury modern landmark in the Brazilian metropolis. It soon became a recognisable example of São Paulo's multi-family residential architecture due to its vibrantly coloured shutters, which stretch the full front façade, creating a sense of playfulness and movement.

Writer: Sara Sturges, Alix Biehler

Find out more about Lausanne apartment building here

Iconic renovated: Lausanne apartment block
by AR Architects

When entering the newly renovated flat, visitors are greeted by a spacious open plan living room that opens to the terrace on one side, as well as the kitchen. On the opposite side lie the apartment’s two bedrooms and a small home office

Find out more about Lausanne apartment building here

High and dry: SM House
by Jacobsen Arquitetura

SM House is an elegant wooden structure that overlooks Taguaíba Beach, south of São Paulo. Nestled among dense foliage, this fine wooden structure offers an open plan living area, giving the impression that one is living in the middle of the jungle. Likewise, the master bedroom, on the upper storey, offers a wraparound terrace with its low-level balustrade to gaze out towards the jungle.

Writer: Jonathan Bell, Alix Biehler.

Find out more about SM House here

High and dry: SM House
by Jacobsen Arquitetura

‘For us, the beach house is the simplest way of relating to the land and the natural landscape,’ say the architects. ‘Functionally, the house must have necessary protection from the sun and rain and at the same time be open to the outside and the views’

Find out more about SM House here