This Brazil mountain retreat is a ‘timeless ruin‘

Brazil mountain retreat Bocaina-Paraty House is ‘first and foremost an idea’, explain its architects, Cicero Ferraz Cruz and Fábio Mosaner. The project, a dwelling nestled in the verdant slopes of the Bocaina region outside the historic Brazilian town of Paraty, is a powerful design – an architectural rock formation springing from its natural surroundings. 

The idea behind this Brazil mountain retreat

'The idea for this house was to poetically imagine a situation where the stones had always been there, rearranged by nature, like a timeless ruin. Embedded precisely in the best site, on the sunniest slope, protected from southerly winds and open to the sun from the north. Our ruin would be in the exact place, chosen after months of observation and appreciation: we are thus making a brand new ruin!' the architects say. 

The home is made of stone, coupled with cross laminated timber (CLT) and glass, both materials that claim their space in this green setting. Large windows in harmoniously placed locations on the façade, terraces and more in-between areas that connect inside and outside ensure the inhabitants can feel this connection with nature and can enjoy the environment. 

Playing with the concept of the country's typical two-level house arrangement, the architects composed a piano nobile that contains all the main living areas. The 'base' of this Brazilian mountain retreat mimic a 'pedestal', the architects say. At the same time, the piano nobile and the asymmetrical fluctuations of its windowsills make it feel contemporary, while ensuring it gives the impression that it's smaller than it is. 'This is not a classic two-storey house – it is a house over a ruin.'