DDS

The design of house DDS, is based on an idea that culture, landscape, architecture, interior design, furniture and art form a whole. The architectural precedents of Brazilian Modernism and particularly Paulista Brutalism are apparent in the design of the house. The site is a beautiful piece of land that falls gradually away towards a lake and a rolling green landscape in the distance. The landscape is the project’s primary asset and the architecture is a lens through which one experiences it. On arrival, a dramatic leaning off-shutter concrete wall, marks the edge of the public space and heightens the sense of transition and arrival into a private internal courtyard. The route forces a series of changes of direction onto the visitor, this unravelling of spaces, building up and releasing tension, sets up an almost cinematic experience of the building using time and space. The house is arranged on two levels; the top level is a pavilion structure set in the landscape, housing the living spaces. It is almost entirely unencumbered by walls. Glass doors slide away on both sides to blur any distinction between interior and exterior space, so that architecture and landscape overlap each other with the division between the two purposely ambiguous. A massive off-shutter concrete slab, with various vaults carved out of the mass, floats over the living spaces. It inverts expectations of typically light and conventional pavilion structure. Its mass makes a strong sculptural statement, whilst the vaults subtly organizing the open pavilion into more intimate zones of dining, seating and lounging areas whilst funneling views of the courtyard gardens, and the landscape beyond, into the space. On the level below this more public pavilion are the private spaces, including a downstairs lounge, cinema, games room and en-suite bedrooms. These spaces are connected to the upstairs section via a series of courtyards that run through it. A series of double volume cutouts which make physical connections between the two levels and draw natural air and light into the lower level. Like the spaces above, the level opens onto expansive gardens and connects to the landscape views beyond. The use of raw concrete pays homage to the impact of the material on Brazilian architecture. Stone and wood paneling emphasize the sense of continuity with the landscape around and beyond the house itself. The landscape design was conceptualized alongside the architecture, which creates an immersive surrounding for the paces of the house and also directly links the site visually with the distant landscape. Fundamental to the whole design, is the notion of the experience of architecture. The building is not an object but rather a series of occurrences. From the dramatic arrival sequence, the house sets up a playful engagement with the experience of space and landscape.