- Project: TM House
- Architect: Jacobsen Arquitetura
- Location: Brazil
- Year: 2024
- Area: 980 m2
- Photography: Fernando Guerra / FG+SG
A Dialogue Between Architecture and Landscape
TM House by Jacobsen Arquitetura embodies the studio’s signature approach—architecture that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, merging contemporary minimalism with the serenity of natural surroundings.
Nestled within a lush Brazilian landscape, the residence unfolds as a series of open, interconnected spaces that invite the environment to become an integral part of daily life.
Jacobsen Arquitetura, renowned for its refined modernist language and masterful use of natural materials, designed TM House as a quiet composition of light, structure, and landscape. Every element—from its floating planes to its transparent walls—celebrates proportion, precision, and a profound respect for place.
Site and Context
The residence is located in a tranquil natural setting, away from the urban density of major Brazilian cities. The site, rich with mature vegetation and gentle topography, shaped the home’s spatial organization.
Rather than dominating the land, TM House seems to hover lightly above it, supported by slender pillars and cantilevered slabs that allow the terrain and vegetation to flow uninterrupted beneath the structure.
This sensitive positioning minimizes environmental impact while creating a feeling of suspension and openness—a recurring motif in Jacobsen’s work.
Architectural Composition
TM House is defined by its horizontal planes and strong linear geometry, characteristic of Jacobsen Arquitetura’s elegant Brazilian modernism.
The project unfolds in three distinct volumes: a social wing, a private wing, and a service block—each connected by transitional spaces that frame views of water, vegetation, and sky.
Glass façades and long overhangs ensure natural cross-ventilation and abundant daylight, while deep eaves and pergolas provide shade from the tropical sun.
The central living area opens entirely onto the garden and swimming pool, dissolving the limits between interior comfort and outdoor leisure.
Materiality and Atmosphere
Material selection enhances the connection to nature. Wood, stone, and concrete are used in their most authentic form—unpolished, textured, and tactile.
Warm wooden ceilings soften the linear geometry, while rough-cut stone walls add a sense of permanence and grounding. The polished concrete floors, in contrast, reflect the surrounding greenery and infuse light deep into the interiors.
This interplay of natural and crafted surfaces creates a home that is minimalist yet deeply sensory—a hallmark of Jacobsen Arquitetura’s residential portfolio.
Interior Experience
Inside, the layout prioritizes fluidity, transparency, and comfort. The main living area functions as a continuous social core, integrating lounge, dining, and kitchen spaces beneath a seamless wooden canopy.
Large sliding glass panels transform the space depending on the time of day—open to the landscape during daylight, and intimate and serene by night.
The private areas—bedrooms and bathrooms—are positioned to ensure privacy without isolation, offering views of enclosed gardens or reflecting pools.
Furniture and built-in elements were custom designed, maintaining the architectural integrity and emphasizing craftsmanship over ornamentation.
Light, Shadow, and Connection
Daylight is an architectural material in TM House.
Skylights, clerestory openings, and carefully oriented windows choreograph the path of light across the interiors. As the sun moves, shadows stretch along the wooden ceilings and stone walls, creating a living rhythm that changes throughout the day.
The architecture remains deliberately simple, allowing nature’s dynamism—wind, sunlight, vegetation—to become the house’s most expressive features.
Sustainability and Design Philosophy
True to Jacobsen Arquitetura’s ethos, sustainability in TM House is inherent to its design, not an addition.
The use of local materials, natural ventilation, solar orientation, and passive shading strategies reduce energy consumption.
The home’s elevated structure protects native vegetation and improves site drainage, while rainwater collection and greywater reuse systems ensure environmental efficiency.
More than a house, TM House is a meditation on proportion, climate, and material honesty—a continuation of Brazil’s modernist legacy reinterpreted for the 21st century.
TM House exemplifies Jacobsen Arquitetura’s refined architectural language: discreet, sustainable, and profoundly connected to its context.
Through simplicity, precision, and restraint, the architects created a residence that feels timeless yet distinctly modern, seamlessly bridging human comfort with the beauty of the natural world.
