- Project: Manacá House
- Architect: VAGA
- Location: Brazil, Cesario Lange
- Year: 2023
- Area: 568 m2
- Photography: Carolina Lacaz
Architecture Rooted in Nature
Casa Manacá by VAGA Arquitetura redefines suburban living in Cesário Lange, São Paulo, through an architectural language that merges structure and landscape into one continuous dialogue.
Designed on a corner lot surrounded by greenery, the house embraces sunlight, privacy, and topography to create a living experience where architecture becomes an extension of nature itself.
The project emphasizes simplicity, precision, and sustainability—qualities that position it as both a design statement and a model for new residential developments in the region.
Spatial Composition: Three Cores, Two Volumes
The home is organized into three functional cores—service, social, and private—each with a unique relationship to its immediate surroundings.
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Service Core: Facing the street, this volume houses utility areas and forms a discreet, solid façade that protects the residence’s privacy.
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Social Core: Opening toward the lake and garden, this area contains the living room, kitchen, and dining spaces—fluid and transparent, immersed in nature and light.
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Private Core: A more secluded zone oriented toward an internal garden, offering a tranquil, green retreat for the bedrooms.
These cores are contained within two intersecting volumes, unified under a distinctive metal roof that becomes the project’s architectural protagonist.
The Roof as a Defining Element
The metal roof plays a structural, aesthetic, and environmental role.
A single longitudinal eaves beam runs the full length of the house, functioning simultaneously as structure, rainwater drainage, and service conduit.
Its geometry creates generous overhangs on the north façade, shielding interiors from direct sunlight while framing shaded outdoor terraces.
By varying the ceiling height, the roof defines spatial hierarchy: higher ceilings for communal areas and more intimate proportions for the private wing.
This thoughtful interplay of scale and light reinforces comfort and efficiency without sacrificing elegance.
Efficiency, Sustainability, and Accessibility
The construction system—metal structure and masonry infill walls—was selected to optimize cost, speed, and precision during execution.
Despite being intended for sale, the project achieves a rare blend of affordability and refinement, using accessible materials elevated through meticulous detailing.
Natural cross-ventilation, solar orientation, and thermal shading minimize energy consumption, while durable finishes ensure long-term resilience with minimal maintenance.
Design for an Unknown Client
Designing without a specific end user posed both a creative and commercial challenge.
VAGA Arquitetura approached this uncertainty by focusing on universal qualities of comfort, proportion, and light, ensuring that the house would resonate with a wide range of future occupants.
The architects explain:
“Our goal was to guarantee a result that pleased potential buyers while establishing a high standard of quality for future constructions in the condominium.”
— VAGA Arquitetura
A Model for Contemporary Brazilian Living
Casa Manacá stands as a refined example of contemporary Brazilian residential architecture—functional yet poetic, efficient yet warm.
Through its balance of openness, privacy, and environmental logic, the house becomes a prototype for sustainable, context-aware suburban design in São Paulo’s growing interior landscape.
