Isay Weinfeld

This house is in Curitiba, a city in Southern Brazil, in a gated community a little removed from the center of the city and surrounded by small pockets of woods.

If the land’s natural terrain – slightly sloping downwards – inspired the organization of the program in descending volumes as to minimize the need for cuts and fills, the client’s request for the use of exposed brick on the façades made us envision those volumes as pure shapes, in straight lines, and covered by that one material.

From the street, what is seen are blind volumes, void of any openings. Past the gate, a pathway amidst the garden leads to a completely green anteroom – lawny, with floor-to-ceiling green walls – under a wooden pergola. Yet, upon entering the house proper and crossing a small foyer, the surprise unfolds: spacious living rooms and the dining area extend towards the deck and the swimming pool, overlooking the woods on the foreground and the city skyline further away.

The higher level houses the areas reserved to the family that, similarly, open onto vast terraces affording the same view.