This rural Brazilian retreat, set in leafy Upstate São Paulo makes the most of its favourable position on high ground to look out to the region's green rolling hills. Titled MJE House and designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura, one of Brazil's most established names in the field, the project was conceived as a holiday home for a family of urbanites seeking a countryside escape. Drawing on the country's strong modernist architecture roots and sprinkling on some 21st century flair and technology, and the result offers just that – the perfect contemporary getaway.
MJE House: inside the rural Brazilian retreat
MJE House is organised in two volumes, placed on top of each other at a right angle, in order to make the most of views and light. At the same time, the simple, long and low, loosely rectangular shapes keep the building close to the ground, while taking their cues from the surrounding landscape. A long, stone wall runs across the length of the lower volume, anchoring the project to the ground, offering a touch of nature and texture.
On the upper level, a similar effect is offered by a series of freijó wood panels which act as privacy screens and shading for the bedroom areas, which are located in the top volume. This level is also the one that juts out in a cantilever over the landscape, creating a viewing platform for its users and framing vistas from the bedrooms. All the joinery and interiors were designed and implemented by Jacobsen Arquitectura, conceived after long discussions and a fruitful collaboration with the clients.
As often displayed in the region's residential architecture, the design provides a strong connection between indoors and outdoors. The ground floor living space, a flowing, open-plan interior composed of various lounge arrangements, spills out effortlessly to a paved garden where additional seating and dining options are spread out. A swimming pool on one of the terraces adds to the residents' options for leisure and entertainment.
The home's main entrance, situated at the intersection of the two horizontal blocks, features a sculptural, white, spiral staircase. It ensures that stepping inside offers drama and a sense of arrival befitting this rural Brazilian retreat's 21st century architecture.
-
Itapororoca House is nestled in the Brazilian forest overlooking its leafy coastal contextDesigned by Bloco Arquitetos, Itapororoca House is a treetop residence in Bahia, Brazil, offering a large wrap-around veranda to invite nature in
-
Sophie Smallhorn’s plywood tables for Uncommon Projects are colourful and modularThese modular tables by the artist and the plywood specialist play with colour for function, fun and flexibility
-
Aldo Frattini Bivouac is a mountain shelter, but not as you know itA new mountain shelter on the northern Italian pre-Alp region of Val Seriana, Aldo Frattini Bivouac is an experimental and aesthetically rich, compact piece of architecture
-
Itapororoca House is nestled in the Brazilian forest overlooking its leafy coastal context
Designed by Bloco Arquitetos, Itapororoca House is a treetop residence in Bahia, Brazil, offering a large wrap-around veranda to invite nature in
-
A postmodernist home reborn: we tour the British embassy in BrazilWe tour the British Embassy in Brazil after its thorough renovation by Hersen Mendes Arquitetura, which breathes new life into a postmodernist structure within the country's famous modernist capital
-
A new concrete house in São Paulo state is designed to open up to its hillside viewsArchitects Fernanda Padula and Juliana Risso have shaped this family house in Brazil from meticulously poured concrete forms, precise joinery and a close relationship with the landscape
-
Meet Carmen Portinho, the pioneering engineer who shaped Brazilian architectureCarmen Portinho’s pioneering vision shaped Brazil’s social housing, museums and modernist identity. A new exhibition in Rio finally gives her work the recognition it deserves
-
An upstate São Paulo house is rooted in culture and the location that inspires itBalancing tradition and modernity, upstate São Paulo house Casa MM by Equipe Lamas is ‘an oasis of intimacy within a residential setting’
-
A masterful house in São Paulo invites jungle vegetation, water and natural light inA house in São Paulo by Meireles + Pavan Arquitetura, FR House, is a richly curated series of spaces designed to create worlds within worlds
-
Meet Rodrigo Oliveira, landscape architect to some of Brazil’s finest buildingsWe delve into Rodrigo Oliveira's naturalistic approach and explore his landscape architecture work, gracing buildings designed by some of Brazil's finest contemporary architects
-
A rammed-earth house near Brasília pairs the traditional technique with contemporary formsValéria Gontijo + Architects has completed Casa Taipa, pairing earthy tones and natural materials with refined design and a generous floorplan
