- Project: Lagoa House
- Architect: Camila Mourão Arquitetura
- Location: Brazil, Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais
- Year: 2023
- Area: 420 m2
- Photography: Jomar Bragança
A House Designed Around Nature
Set on the shores of Lagoa Santa near Belo Horizonte, Lagoa House by Camila Mourão Arquitetura is a serene retreat that blurs the boundaries between architecture and landscape. Surrounded by lush vegetation and calm water, the home is conceived as a living extension of the lake — open, light, and intimately connected to nature.
The project reflects the studio’s core philosophy: to design spaces that breathe, where natural ventilation, vegetation, and daylight replace mechanical systems and artificial boundaries. The result is a home that feels timeless — elegant yet grounded in simplicity.
Concept and Site Integration
From the earliest sketches, the goal was to build without dominating the site. The architecture unfolds horizontally, following the natural topography and orientation of the plot to maximize cross-ventilation and shade.
The home’s plan is organized in two linear wings separated by an open courtyard. One wing houses the social areas; the other contains the private suites. Between them, a central garden and reflective pool bring air, light, and tranquility deep into the home.
Every view is framed to emphasize the presence of water and greenery — the lake, the garden, and the sky form the visual core of the project.
Architectural Composition
The house’s geometry is defined by clean, continuous lines. Large roof overhangs, covered terraces, and expansive glass walls create a dialogue between solid and void, protection and openness.
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Living Pavilion: The open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area faces the garden and the pool. Sliding glass panels disappear into the walls, merging interior and exterior spaces.
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Private Wing: Three bedrooms and a master suite are oriented to capture morning light and lake breezes, each with direct garden access.
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Outdoor Spaces: A covered veranda and wooden deck stretch toward the water, extending the living area into the landscape.
The horizontal layout and low profile preserve privacy while maintaining constant connection to the natural surroundings.
Materiality and Sensory Experience
Material selection was guided by warmth, texture, and sustainability. Camila Mourão chose a palette that emphasizes tactility and harmony with the environment:
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Structure: Exposed concrete and natural stone provide durability and thermal mass.
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Walls: Local brick rendered with mineral pigments evokes the earthy tones of the region.
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Wood: Freijó and cumaru timber are used for ceilings, screens, and pergolas, lending softness and rhythm to the façades.
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Floors: Polished cement floors transition seamlessly from indoor to outdoor spaces.
The result is a home that ages gracefully, its materials deepening in character with time and climate.
Light, Air, and Landscape
Passive design strategies form the backbone of Lagoa House’s environmental performance. The home is oriented for natural cross-ventilation, with operable windows positioned to draw breezes from the lake through the entire plan.
Large roof overhangs shade façades from the tropical sun, while skylights and interior courtyards bring diffused light to every room. This interplay of light and shadow changes throughout the day, animating walls and floors with reflections from the water and trees.
The architecture encourages a slower rhythm of living — doors are left open, spaces flow together, and the house becomes a vessel for air, light, and silence.
A Contemporary Brazilian Retreat
Lagoa House is a meditation on simplicity, proportion, and connection. It represents a contemporary continuation of Brazilian modernism — open plan living, integration with nature, and honest material expression — reinterpreted through a warm, domestic lens.
Camila Mourão Arquitetura succeeds in crafting a home that is both deeply modern and distinctly Brazilian: casual yet refined, structured yet poetic.
