São Paulo villa by Arthur Casas is the perfect urban retreat

A contemporary house in São Paulo is a modernist retreat set in the leafy suburbs, courtesy of architect Arthur Casas

BD House by arthur casas
(Image credit: press)

This São Paulo villa was designed as the perfect urban retreat. BD House, created by Brazilian architect Arthur Casas and his team, was conceived as a haven of modernist calm among the rich suburban foliage of the Brazilian metropolis for the clients, a young couple with two small children – although the residence sits a mere stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. 

The design's starting point, Casas explains, was the structure’s cobogó – the external screen that wraps the upper levels and derives from the traditional lace-like perforated panels of the country's vernacular dwellings. The pattern here, made out of wood, was created by the studio and helps define the project's look and identity, balancing privacy and long vistas, natural ventilation and protection from the elements. At the same time, the garden's verdant planting and a green wall converse with the geometric timber structure – which was also designed to support the growth of the outdoor climbing plants on site.

living space inside BD House, a São Paulo villa by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

The home's main volumes are made in cast-in-situ concrete, their robust, confident, boxy forms clearly delineating where the outdoors ends and the indoors begins. Expansive glazing, however, on the ground floor allows the interior to open up to nature and connect visually and physically to the garden when the windows are drawn back. Meanwhile, timber surfaces soften the overall effect. 

Within its some 650 sq m, the house hosts a flowing, open-plan living room and kitchen, toilet, barbecue area, and garden on the ground floor. The children's bedrooms, the master suite, and the guest room are right upstairs. A penthouse-style structure at the top houses leisure areas, such as a pool and deck, while a basement was dug to accommodate the garage, a wine cellar, an office, service areas and storage. 

The interiors, bathed in natural light and wrapped in views of greenery, are styled with furniture pieces by Brazilian and international creatives, such as Sergio Rodrigues, Charles Eames, Lina Bo Bardi, Jean Gillon, and Ricardo Fasanello. Items by Casas, too, populate the space, including the ‘Apache’ dining table, the ‘Antigua’ coffee table and a selection of lighting – making this São Paulo villa a holistically thought-out, finely tuned urban retreat.

exterior of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

exterior view of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

ground level of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

exterior side angle of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

exterior side angle of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

exterior wooden mesh at BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

living space in BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

staircase of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

inside out relationship of BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

dining space at BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

garden at BD House by arthur casas

(Image credit: press)

INFORMATION

arthurcasas.com

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).