white perforated shading module wraps the façade of this beach house in brazil

a beach house for family and friends

located in a gated residential community in the city of xangri-lá, on the coast of rio grande do sul, brazil, this house by arquitetura nacional team makes use of the privileged position—a corner lot on the border of a lake— to explore in different ways the visuals and the relations between private and social areas. the program is a beach house standard: a generous social area to receive family and friends and an intimate area for resting.

the ground floor contains wide living spaces, whereas the top floor accommodates the bedrooms and all the private leisure environments – a spa and a tv room. on the ground floor, the social spaces are articulated by smaller volumes that hold the complementary spaces (kitchen, toilet, warehouse, and service). the covered living areas on the ground floor are delimited by the access door (5m wide) and two other window frames (9m wide each), configured in ‘l’ shape. when these windows are opened, a continuous social space is created from the front of the back of the lot, where the pool and open space are located, creating a great covered porch. at the entrance hall, a suspended cabinet holds the tv and fireplace, organizing the access flows without breaking the continuity of the space.

all images by cristiano bauce

the selection of materials creates a comfortable ambiance 

arquitetura nacional team curated a selection of furniture that mixes modern and contemporary pieces by brazilian architects and designers. with the total opening of the windows, the internal and external environments merge, further expanding the possibilities of using the social spaces. the composition of the woodwork and other natural materials creates a comfortable ambiance throughout the house. since the lot is located on a corner, with a considerable flow of people, the internal views are protected by vegetation, which also serves as a block for the winds coming from the northeast, very common in the region.

on the second floor, four suites, a spa, a massage room, and a family tv room take place. in contrast to the open composition of the ground floor, the second floor is characterized by a unique volume, with a more tectonic and private aspect. for that, a shading finishing module in GRC (glass-reinforced concrete) was designed by the arquitetura nacional team. this element creates a filter between the exterior and interior of the house. the façade of the second floor consists of 390 modules in GRC (with 80x80cm), with white cement and fiberglass in their composition.

its shape was designed in order to direct the daylight to the interior of the house, creating diffuse and soft lighting, and at the same time providing privacy to the intimate areas. in the bedrooms and in the spa, the GRCmodules are pivoting, allowing greater openness to the visuals outside. the sobriety of the palette of materials used in the woodwork and the furniture on the second floor seeks to enhance the external GRC wrapping and the effects created by light throughout the day in the spaces.

project info:

name: ventura house
designer: arquitetura nacional

location: xangri-lá, brazil

area: 600 sqm

architectural and interior team: eduardo l maurmann, elen b. n. maurmann, paula otto, yuri kokubun, marcus arnhold, marcelo gasparotto and arquitetura nacional team

photography: cristiano bauce

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom