sauermartins designs house for antique car collection in brazilian mountains

sauermartins, an architectural studio based in porto alegre, recently completed casa de lata in canela, brazil. the single-story urban dwelling was designed for a couple and their treasured antique car collection. the lush, natural site provided an ideal landscape for a house with appealing views, so the architects focused on incorporating and framing the surrounding nature.

the designers introduced a monolithic piece that is permeated by a garden connecting the building to its surrounding natural landscape. through its courtyard scheme, the house gains an inner garden that frames the views of the neighboring preserved trees, and at the same time, provides privacy to the internal spaces.

the program follows the owner’s requirement for an urban house including a large garage to accommodate their antique car collection. resulting in a single-floor volume, the square floor plan is divided into three sectors. the two opposing sectors are equal in size and accommodate the garage on one side and the house on the other. these spaces are articulated by a service area and a barbecue space, connected to an external deck and to the garden.

from the outside, the house presents itself as a closed and austere block, whereas, from the inner courtyard, it transforms into transparent, revealing facades with wide windows that integrate house and garden. the internal patio becomes an introspective, contemplative space that acts as a connection between the different sectors of the program. the lineal opening of the garage facade provides a partial view of the parked cars, integrating them to the residential area.

the programmatic organization of the house flows along the domestic areas and the quality of the internal spaces, especially in terms of abundant natural light and visual connection to the exterior. each space establishes a unique relationship with the other rooms as well as with the surrounding views. a series of sliding doors organizes and delimits the social and private areas, conforming a large intimate space for the couple’s daily life.

the restricted budget influenced the selection of materials and technologies employed in the construction. the focus was the viability of the project as well as a reduced maintenance cost. the design combines a concrete structure for the base – foundation, slabs and fixed furniture – and a metallic structure for the columns and beams. the exterior walls and the roof are clad with the same metal roofing panels, which, along with the wooden cladding in the main facade, compose a monolithic volume.

the exterior and interior surfaces combine wood, glass and metal as a reflection of both industrial and artisanal aspects of the nature of the construction process. the dark aesthetic of the exterior materials alludes to the local technique traditionally employed in the treatment of wooden houses, resulting in a simple architecture, fully capable of integrating itself to the surrounding landscape.

project info:

name: casa de lata

architects: cássio sauer, elisa t martins [sauermartins]

team: lucas schneider zimmer, ignacio de la vega, eliza hauschild, paula motta, javier guardiola, carolina mottin, mariana fagián, barbara remussi, luísa cassol pasqualotto, júlia scopel fraga

location: canela, brazil

built surface: 330 sqm (3552 sqft)

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: cristina gomez | designboom