Cauman House

Jacareí, SP – Brazil

The house was built in Jacarei, 80 km away from Sao Paulo capital, for a family composed by a couple, a son, a grandmother and their pets.

Among the dwellers particularities is the strong relationship with music, specially singing and classical music. Regarding this, the house was developed around a central area made to receive friends in relaxing and rest moments.

The three floors are divided in a very clear way. The basement has the warehouse and the parking space, the ground floor with the grandmother's bedroom, service and social areas and, finally, the first floor holds three bedrooms and their balconies.

The yard, located on the ground floor, offers an environment that suits to an audience or a stage during the celebration moments when the residents start to play their instruments. This place is designed by an organic hole inside a straight slab. That fluid and curvy form is there to transit between the shape of the plants and the upper floor, which is clearly made by humans - a white cube with rectangular windows.

The walls on the ground floor were painted with a terracotta shade over a thick and rough plaster. Symbolically, in - between the alive garden and the stiff white cube above it. The lightness of this volume was suggested by its cantilever structure above the yard.