This Library House is designed as a quiet refuge in the small town of Vinhedo in São Paulo. The architectural planning was simple: The client, a philosopher, needed a space to read and think while immersed in the vegetation.
The design of this house was in charge of the architectural firm Atelier Branco, created by the Italian architect Matteo Arnone and the Catalan Pep Pons. Both architects were students at Switzerland’s Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio with professors such as Christian Kerez and Kengo Kuma. The Brazilian-based firm has extensive experience not only in architectural projects, but also encompasses the development of furniture products and accessories.
One of the challenges of this project is its location. It is located at the top of a sloping terrain inside the so-called “Mata Atlantica”, or the Atlantic forest of the Brazil region.
A concrete skeleton and a 20-meter long and 10-meter wide rectangular slab, whose thickness is 15 centimeters, support the house. The slab is supported in turn by 8 pillars. This structural solution may seem nothing special. However, it manages to obtain an attractive slenderness that can be observed from the main road of the city. Both the external and internal walls are made of concrete.
In addition to the abundant concrete, glass is a fundamental material. It is present on 3 faces of the total volume. With this, an absolute connection between the inside and the outdoor natural environment is achieved.
The access to this house is by means of a staircase placed in the central axis of the slab that forms the roof. The stairs become a leading element in the interior of the house. The different spaces of the house are connected in a staggered way adapting to the slope of the land.
The house is configured on three levels. The first level contains the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The second level is the reading area with a large library. The third level is the private area with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The heights of the zones are different: The central reading zone has 4.15 meters and the third level has 2.50.
The warmth of the wood inside compensates for the cold sensations that concrete may transmit to us. The Library House reminds us of the modern architecture of the twentieth century, which featured pavilions and glazed spaces.
Photography by Ricardo Bassetti , Gleeson Paulino , Jaqueline Lessa.