Mandacaru House / Arquitetura Nacional

The Casa Mandacaru is named after the plant, symbol of a happy and large family, who loves to gather. Therefore, the project was designed to accommodate on a daily basis the nucleus of four residents (parents and two young children) but also be able to host large meetings and celebrations. The condominium where the land is located, in Votorantim, has a particularity that allows walls between lots (something not very common in this type of development). Thus, the proposal was the creation of a wall that would be the protagonist in the composition, embracing the two main volumes of the house. The front volume, with one floor, contains pedestrian access, the garage, and the guest room/office. The back volume contains the social area on the ground floor and the three suites and laundry room on the second floor. A large curved marquee connects these two volumes and creates an important covered area in the central courtyard of the house. It also embraces the pool and the jabuticaba tree, also important elements in the composition. The objective of this implantation was to expand the house to the entire lot, in a concept of a courtyard house, focused on itself. In this way, the inside and outside expand and so do the limits of the enclosures. The idea is total integration of the common areas with the central courtyard and the garden that embraces the ensemble, providing many spaces to accommodate the whole family. The house has three main materials: wooden brise, glass, and hydraulic tile. The brise covers the front volume and the second floor of the back volume, providing privacy for the house and promoting light control in the rooms. The glass encloses the social areas of the ground floor, connecting the house to the garden. The red hydraulic tile, designed by Arquitetura Nacional, covers the entire perimeter of the wall that surrounds the house.