The Brazilian Forest House brings together inside and outside, art and nature, in one fell swoop. The design, created by São Paulo architecture studio FGMF, draws on tropical modernist architecture and the client's needs, carving a holiday home that feels contemporary and expansive, effortlessly taking in the green context in the Fazenda Boa Vista development in the countryside of São Paulo.
Explore this Brazilian Forest House
Set, as its name suggests, in a leafy forested area, the house opens towards the green surroundings at every turn. It was this relationship between the existing trees and a natural, uneven plot surface that the architecture team, headed by practice founders Lourenço Gimenes, Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz and Fernando Forte, sought to tackle.
The trio are deft hands at crafting expert, modern and considered residential designs, with past works including the playfully modular Grid House and the dramatic Cigarra House, both in upstate São Paulo.
For Forest House, the team worked on a complex comprising a series of pavilions that together make up the residence. The largest pavilion contains the main home with the bedrooms upstairs and living spaces below.
Straight lines, low volumes with pronounced overhands, exposed concrete and wooden surfaces make up a material palette that nods to the country's midcentury modern traditions – yet it is delivered in a way that feels unmistakably contemporary.
Swathes of glazing and lots of openness towards the outdoors underline a continuity between internal and external areas. This is highlighted further by the numerous art pieces that dot all parts of the home, taken from the owners' extensive collection.
Sculptures include large-scale works by Franz Weissmann and Amilcar de Castro on the terraces outside, while inside, artists such as Frans Krajcberg and Adriana Veraijão have a bold presence that infuses visual culture into the home's strong spatial identity.
-
Morgan announces nine limited editions of its Super 3 three-wheelerThe Super 3 Origins Collection assembles nine elaborate design specifications for the diminutive Morgan Super 3, drawing on the influences and inspirations that shaped this high-performance three-wheeler
-
Vipp’s new guesthouse in Latvia’s Salaca National Park is its cosiest to dateDanish design brand Vipp transforms a 19th-century Latvian riverside log cabin into its ninth guesthouse
-
Step inside Le Harlequin, an imaginative redesign of a Mumbai apartmentLe Harlequin by Design Hex is an imaginative redesign of a Mumbai apartment in the bustling Indian city's Lower Parel neighbourhood
-
Explore Bridge House, an immersive island home off the coast of BrazilBridge House offers 21st-century minimalism and long sea views on the island of Florianópolis off the southern coast of Brazil
-
Welcome to Casa das Palmeiras, a serene sanctuary in bustling São PauloCasa das Palmeiras by Marilia Pellegrini was conceived as a calming urban retreat that brings minimalist serenity to the bustle of São Paulo
-
Discover Chu Ming Silveira’s unseen 1970s brutalist house in São PauloBrazilian architect Chu Ming Silveira's 1970s brutalist house design is one of two iconic modernist residences hosting the ABERTO art and design exhibition that opens this month in São Paulo
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais viewsA Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
-
Valencia House by Padovani Arquitetos cuts a striking figure in the Brazilian landscapeValencia House is a sprawling new holiday retreat in the hills outside São Paulo that mixes the timeless forms of Brazilian modernism with expansive guest facilities
-
This contemporary Brazilian home lies low and takes in its countryside contextA Brazilian home by practice Jacobsen Arquitetura, MS Residence unites nature and contemporary architecture outside São Paulo
-
Niemeyer’s modernism celebrated in Oscar Ibirapuera, an example of 21st-century São Paulo livingPerkins&Will completes Oscar Ibirapuera, next to Niemeyer’s modernist landmark park in São Paulo, Brazil
-
Canopy House in Brazil is designed so ‘you can always hear the birds’Canopy House is raised on concrete columns to offer treetop views of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest; a holiday home by Studio MK27 that is not only open plan, but open to the elements
