Project: GGL House
Architects: Studio AG Arquitetura
Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Area: 4,843 sf
Photographs by: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
GGL House by Studio AG Arquitetura
The GGL House is a stunning modern home located in the city of Sao Paulo in Brazil. It was designed by Studio AG Arquitetura for a young couple on a narrow plot. The home has been designed to highlight the connection between indoor-outdoor areas and that is easily noticeable by the lush landscaped areas that seamlessly connect to the interior.
The GGL House, located in São Paulo city, was planned to a young couple. Its plot, in a narrow and long shape, 10x30m, was designed in a way in order to use the space in the best manner. The upper bulk of the residence arises as a reinterpretation of the traditional houses, with a gable roof drawing, respecting the language of the adjacent houses of the neighborhood. The façade, built with metal profiles, clad on the front and the back by a high-pressure laminate panel, has extended durability.
From a pre-existing scenario, the pursuit for the new and unusual was the strongest issue of the project. With a contemporary architecture, it uses classic and modern elements, creating a mix of styles, which balance two aspects: beauty and comfort. With an extensive program, its distribution offers three floors plus the rooftop.
On the ground floor, it was adjusted the social area of the house. A lowered block, coated in expanded metal screen, hosts the kitchen, service area and open living room, with direct access to the garden. Besides that, there is an untied bulk with the gourmet area and sauna, which does not interfere in the main structure of the house, keeping the upper bulk highlighted. The kitchen, integrated most of the time, has pivot sliding doors, isolating it completely on days with events, since the lighting is projected by a tensioned ceiling on the bench.
Another emphasized point of the house is the side fair-faced concrete wall, where it was built-in a metallic stairs, casting, which allows the light, that comes from the door of the access to the solarium, to reach the lower floors. The wine cellar was created from the concreting of the wall, specifying the importance of the bar to the residents that receive guests frequently. The closing among the horizontal planes is made with large glass panels, which dilute the visual boundaries between the house and the landscape. A vertical garden was created in the side and in the back wall in order to harmonize with the garden of the adjacent house.
The upper bulk hosts the private area of the house, composed by three suites and a living room. In this block, it was elaborated the idea of full and empty, explored by the rips that emphasize the natural lighting influence during the day in the rooms. The interior garden, in the private room, brings the green to the interior of the house and provides privacy to the façade of the back, besides lighting, in a subtle manner, the living room.
Bi-fold windows filter the light of the bedrooms that are facing the side of the plot and the master suite that has a view to the backyard. The gable roof was asymmetrical designed in order to provide a room for the solarium – space of contemplation of the treetops, where the ridge of the roof achieves the maximum height authorized by the law. The swimming pool was the highlight of the project. Located in a mandatory setback of 1,50m in one of the sides of the house, it optimizes the space that, in advance, would be unused. The basement floor hosts the garage and the technical area of the house.
