In Bahia, Brazil, Itapororoca House by Bloco Arquitetos is nestled in the cascading treeline, looking down towards its namesake beach below. The project draws elements from Brazilian colonial houses, which typically boast large verandas that wrap around the building, providing shade and moments of calm and reflection.
Tour Itapororoca Casa by Bloco Arquitetos
The inspiration behind the house was centred on creating a respectful integration between the built space and the natural environment. ‘We made the decision to use a Glued Laminated Timber (GLT) structure, with small spans and transparency, allowing us to create a light, precise structure that connects seamlessly with the surrounding tropical landscape,’ explains Daniel Mangabeira, co-founder and one of the lead architects at Bloco Arquitetos.
It is this direct relationship between the building and open space, as well as the references to the verandas seen on colonial homes, which helped guide the design, as Mangabeira says: ‘Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, a Brazilian author, discusses the colonial house as part of the country’s cultural formation. The veranda emerges as an intermediate space of sociability, a point of mediation between public and private. For him, the veranda is an expression of a life turned outward and toward others.’
In Itapororoca House, the veranda serves as a transitional space between interior and exterior, emphasised through large porches and generous roof space. The linear repetition of the pillar structures around the building adds visual intrigue. ‘This spatial logic is also present in modern architecture in Brasília, where our studio is based, especially in the palaces designed by Oscar Niemeyer, such as the Palácio do Planalto and the Palácio da Alvorada,’ says Mangabeira.
The architecture studio’s project is an accumulation of different sources of inspiration drawn from Brazil's rich architectural history, including the modernist architecture from Brasília. Past solutions have, here, been adapted to the topography and climatic conditions of the Bahian coast.
‘The main challenge was reconciling a large-scale wooden structure with the technical complexity of the site, especially considering the mandatory 15m setback from the bluff and the proximity to the sea,’ say Henrique Coutinho and Matheus Seco, also co-founders at the studio. ‘It was a balancing act between engineering and architecture, respecting the material’s limits while enhancing its expressiveness in an extremely sensitive area of the Brazilian coastline, protected by IPHAN – the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage.’
The residence is located on a 3m slope and 30m from a steep cliff. Taking advantage of the plot, the project consists of a semi-underground structure that helps integrate it into the natural terrain. The result means the building takes advantage of an optical illusion; from the entrance level, it looks like a single-storey home, while from the beachside, it unveils its two levels.
The living areas and bedrooms face the east. However, the most intriguing part of the building is the mezzanine with its colourful panels designed by the architecture studio. It filters in light and the colour, adding movement to the interior.
The architect’s vision for the home was to create a sense of continuity between the natural and built environments, as the co-founders tell Wallpaper*: ‘The goal for the space is not to impose itself, but to reveal itself little by little, as an extension of the landscape, especially at the back of the house, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean.’
