martins lucena arquitetos forms concrete coastal house in brazil

martins lucena arquitetos has completed the design of a bold, yet elegant family home in the brazilian city of natal. inspired by the international style, the main concept behind the ‘IF house’ was to create large, open interiors which form a connection with the outdoor spaces of the corner site. the architectural expression also greatly considers the bioclimatic conditions, resulting in a building that captures prevailing breezes and minimizes solar heat gain.

images © maíra acayaba, courtesy of martins lucena arquitetos

the land gently slopes upwards from the the sidewalk, creating the aspect of a building that is slightly raised and celebrates the entrance to the house. the program by the architect is split over three floors, with the ground level comprising of a kitchen, a guest suite and the dining and living areas. a recreation space has been formed at the back of the site in order to protect the family’s privacy. the garage, located in the semi-basement, enables two accesses to the building: one through the service area; and another by the main entrance on the ground floor. the upper floor accommodates more intimate living areas, consisting of three bedroom suites connected by a free space that houses a library.

with consideration to the direction of prevailing wind, the architect has designed the house with large windows orientated to the east and south, in order to utilize natural ventilation. large eaves protect the internal spaces from direct sunlight, while the double-wall on the north face and sun-protection shields on the west face of the openings are also strategies to mitigate the incidence of thermal load, providing thermal comfort to residents. in addition, the interaction of the geometric volumes give rise to large overhangs, providing shaded areas.

reinforced concrete has been selected as the main structural system, as it enables the floors to be read as separate volumes, whilst allowing large spans and open spaces to be formed. the recreation space has been covered in a metal frame with steel sections that extend along the room, creating an expression of lightness and elegance. the stairs to the upper floor are also designed with the use of metal profiles in order to ensure a slender structure with only two points of support. the use of materials like wood and hydraulic tile, which makes up the large panel of the west facade, and the use of typical stones from the region supports a dialogue between contemporary and regional architectural language, ensuring the IF house complements its surroundings.

project info:

project name: ‘IF house’

project location:ponta negra, natal-RN, brazil

architect: martins lucena arquitetos

architecture design team: márcio lucena, kleimer martins, tadeu de brito, tamáris brasileiro, deborah barbosa, kellington dantas, anna beatriz monteiro

engineers: aurélio marcolino (structure) ademi costa (construction)

ground area: 526,35 m2

built area: 420,38 m2

project year: 2014

completion year: 2018

photography: maíra acayaba

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: lynne myers | designboom