This wonderful family home brings together minimalism and warmth, designed by architect Alessandro Sartore, located at the foot of the Pedra da Gávea Mountains in Itanhangá, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The homeowners wanted the house to have a serious architectural footprint with clean lines and warm undertones, yet not have the appearance of a showroom. Faced with this challenge, the architect made some choices: first selecting cozy materials such as demolition wood (mahogany) and stone walls; and then set the whole house around the enormous tree that occupied the center of the plot of 800 square meters.

The tree, named Bethany by the owner, on account of its stately appearance, has an opening in the floor and ceiling slab of 3 meters in diameter around its trunk. She works as a focal point of the entire distribution of living areas – living room, dining room, kitchen and TV room – and even as a connection between the body of the residence and the garden surrounding the building. “The feeling is that we are in a house-porch,” states the homeowner.

 The intervention in the slab, which is repeated to accommodate a much smaller tree in the garage, eventually leading to a second daring in design: the lack of air conditioning. Yes, only the rooms have refrigeration. Thanks to the narrow length of more than 20 meters long of construction and also the opening functions as a vent channel, the home remains cool even under high temperatures. Simply keep open the glass walls and the entrance door, which are all pivoting.

 

Inside and out, all spaces are connected, especially the interior with the garden and the swimming pool, located right next to the stairs, whose door is never closed to the main entrance.

 The home is decorated with plenty of art and furnishings that are inviting and based on convenience. With a catalog of over a thousand items available, the couple focused on furniture with both comfort and beauty, mixing plenty of icons. “The architect designed the entire wall of the living glass, but I begged to have a ‘normal’ section. Otherwise, where would I hang the screen Marcelo Pia I love? “He says.

Photos: Filippo Banberghi