'casa vista' by studio MK27 extends across brazil's coastal nature

studio mk27 completes ‘casa vista’ as a 60m-long volume

Sculpted by Bahia’s waters’ lagging and constant action, Trancoso’s sea scarps stand before alluring beaches and vivid tones. Casa Vista in Brazil by Studio MK27 lays on top of one of them, a 46m-high cliff. From a bird’s perspective, the elongated volume aims to frame the landscape like a wide-angle camera.

The horizontal proportions of the residence are delineated by the extrusion of an elemental cottage section, generating a 60m-long structure. Rooted by closed volumes in its edges, which contain the master suite and the kitchen, the house opens itself to the colors surrounding it through an immense wide-screen span overlooking the infinite blues.

image © Fernando Guerra

a dramatic pairing of traditional materials & modern strokes

The audacity of the metallic structure sculpted by Studio MK27 (see more here) that enables the 45-meter-long void is balanced by the tactile organicity of the materials that envelopes it. The façade of this outer structure is wrapped by slats of ashy eucalyptus — reminiscent of traditional material in northeastern Brazil made from the spindly branches of the biriba tree — which seem to grow over the facade like petrified roots. The roofing, on its turn, is made from recycled wood and has its tiles handcrafted one by one.

image © Fernando Guerra

Under the roof, an open-air veranda permeates the span, connecting the gardens on either side and surrounding a white lower box. As a house within a house, this volume hosts three bedrooms, a small den, a bathroom, and a living room enveloped in perforated Viroc panels (a dense wood-and-cement composite). Independent of the main structure, this inner house can open completely as the Viroc panels work as folding screens.

image © Fernando Guerra

This untied structure and pale materials palette favor the interaction with the sunlight and the colors surrounding it in a cinematic approach. The outside views swoop inside the interior spaces through soulful textures refracting and reflecting light, creating a dance of light and shadows on each surface, especially through the biriba slats and the Viroc perforated walls.

image © Christian Møller Andersen

In a balanced manner, the scenic Casa Vista by Studio MK27 embraces contrasts. Local materials and furniture pieces dialogue with a bold structure and engineered finishings. Nature’s strong colors are filtered and framed by a muted palette. Closed volumes open themselves to open-air terraces and hallways. Precise boundaries are, ultimately, diluted by this permeable living.

image © Fernando Guerra