House MM

São Paulo, Brazil

Photo © Fernando Guerra

Single Houses

Architects: Studio MK27

Location: Bragança Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
Year: 2012

The MM House organization is set by the intersection of two perpendicular axes on a single ground floor. Along one axis is the horizontal volumetry of the house, with its green roof that lifts the grass of the land and merges with the surrounding construction. Along the other axis, there is emptiness: a wooden deck and pool.

At the intersection of these axes, a terrace holds the social spaces of the house, including a kitchen and a living. With permanent cross ventilation, the atmosphere is inviting, even with the high temperatures of São Paulo state, in southeastern Brazil. This terrace is the transition between interior and exterior. It divides the house into two blocks of wood. The southern block contains the garage and TV room while the northern block holds rooms, kitchen and services. The ceilings create a spatiality: over the terrace it is a low concrete porch and over the living room it is inclined as the roof design and made out of wooden slats.

The climate issue is key for the habitability of the house. All spaces are provided with ventilation through wooden folding doors, brises-soleil that can be fully opened. Moreover, the green roof acts as an insulator, besides creating the peculiarity of the volume.