The project for this house was developed in two different moments: the initial project made in 2008/2009 and executed afterwards (the work was completed in 2011), and the reform project and completion of the interiors carried out between 2020 and 2022. Between one stage and another, the owners moved from Brazil, the two children grew up and the house was almost sold.
Located on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, the house was built on a lot with a steep slope and its program was distributed over three floors. It was decided to locate the garage and the intimate area (4 bedrooms, being 2 suites and 2 semi-suites) on the lower floor, so that a garden terrace connected to the social area and the kitchen could be created on the middle floor.
The office and TV room are located on the top floor, as well as another terrace overlooking the mountains. The reform involved the expansion of the kitchen and the leisure area connected to it, in addition to the creation of a mixed-use bathroom (for leisure and service). The somewhat lean dimensions of the original kitchen and the balcony, associated with a setting sun light that further limited the use of the kitchen, led the owners to request the modification.
The new project took into account some characteristics of the house and the land; the kitchen grew to the limit of the existing concrete eaves, requiring a new cut in the sloping ground. To minimize the slope’s angle of inclination, it was established that the external garden would be five centimeters below the window sill of the new kitchen and would be used as a vegetable garden. The leisure area, on the other hand, required a new structure, made with metallic I-profiles, both for the beams and for the pillars.
This new area extends to the west and its volumetry was conceived so that it emerged from ‘inside’ the void of the old porch, without interfering with the existing concrete structure. The upper slab of the advance is below the concrete beams of the house and a deck was proposed on the floor above the previously existing floor. A few steps and a large bench make the transition to the second part of the deck, built over the garden and below a pergola. The interior design mixes vintage furniture, contemporary pieces, and some items designed by Play Arquitetura.
