Light, Wind and Sound - In harmony with the nature
| House in Garopaba, Santa Catarina Project Design by Helena Karpouzas Report by Adilson Melendez Source: www.arcoweb.com.br |
The environment of the hilly landscape in Garopaba has inspired the design of this house. The article is a translation from a brazilian article. |
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| The basement of the house is both supporting and elevating the upper floors. |
Stones from the area have been used for the supporting walls of the basement, a technique from Portugal. |
| The house is situated at Silveira Beach in Garopaba, Santa Catarina, a municipality with 12 000 inhabitants some 50 miles / 80 km south of Florianopolis. The hilly landscape and the beautiful nature are some of many attractions at Silveira Beach, a well known beach in the region where Helena Karpouzas designed this beautiful house, in complete harmony with the surrounding nature. Helena adopted a concept of completely integrating the house with the nature, from the basement on the steep hillside to the almost 360 degree ocean and landscape view. The house has been situated in a position that allows best
possible ocean view. "The geometry of the house is primitive
and there is no complexity in the design nor in the dynamic
composition" says the architect and refer to the almost
over worked simplicity of the house.
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A search for light - from the sun, the moon and the stars. |
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The house has been designed in 1 block with 3 floors that has been places on the steep hillside. |
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The purpose of the design was to utilize the light from the natural elements (sun, moon, stars), as well as the wind and all sound impressions, explains Helena. "And with all our senses be aware of our inseparability from the nature“, she compares. The project was developed in one block, but the basement got a different shape than the other floors. It is of a rigid design where stones from the area have been used as building material, "a technique from Portugal that has been adopted by the local inhabitants along the coast", says the architect. This technique allows a functional design, technically and conceptually, that anchors and elevates the upper and almost transparent half of the block, and increase the volume of the construction. The internal space has been distributed on 3 stories. In the basement, in close contact with the earth, are the bedrooms and bathrooms located. On the first floor is the living room with dining area and kitchen. Due to all windows, the living room appears to be larger than it is. The first floor and the terrace have been integrated with the surface on the top of the hill, where wood and glass contrasts with stone and grass. The second floor follows the design of the unique first floor. The fact that the house has been developed on such a sloping and irregular environment provokes, according to the architect, the relationship between proportions and scale on two different levels. “Firstly, any observer reacts on the strength of the
simple block design with the stories, where the steep hill forms
the base of the house. Secondly, only invited guests can feel
the closeness to the nature and the realistic view from the
inside of the house, from where the large block of glass hardly
is notable." The text is based on a report by Adilson Melendez, published in PROJETODESIGN, number 270, August 2002.
Technical Data |
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Grass and stone against glass and wood, contrasts and integrity. |
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The living room with dining area and kitchen, and a spectacular 360 degree view. |
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At some moments it is like the nature is reflected in the house.  |