bernardo horta + meius arquitetura build prefab house within mountainous landscape in brazil

bernardo horta arquiteto and meius arquitetura have designed ‘casa pasargada’, a prefabricated house located within an residential complex in nova lima, brazil. the simple design consists of two rectangular volumes with identical dimensions and external coverings that overlap due to the perpendicular positioning.

southeast facade
all images by daniel mansur

bernardo horta arquiteto and meius arquitetura have placed the building within the natural surroundings, creating a contrast and integrating the build space into the environment in a distinct way. the large windows of the building allow sunlight to brighten the interior and direct the views to the surrounding vegetation and the blue sky. the preserved trees that decorate the whole site, ensure privacy and sufficient shading for the residents. the external facades of the linear design, covered with metallic corrugated tile, contrast the organic forms and materiality of nature.

central courtyard and terrace

taking advantage of the spacious site, the architects included a patio in the design, between the private and social sections of the residence. the overlapping volumes free most of the flat land area, allowing inhabitants to enjoy the available free space as a garden. a large sliding door opens the kitchen and living room to the outside, encouraging the simultaneous use the interior and the exterior. the private part of the program consists of three bedrooms, a study and the bathrooms, and it is placed on the second floor, isolated from the social area.

southeast facade

the house was designed based on a mixed structural logic, composed of heavy steel profiles, light steel frame (LSF) and concrete. the metallic mesh using cold-formed steel profiles, makes up the entire structural box on the first and second floor. braces, anchor bolts, connection plates, and reinforcement are part of the assembly kit that is fixed and completed only by screws. in the assembly system used, the parts come with the exact dimensions in accordance with the structural design requirements and with the holes already made for connecting the parts, avoiding cutouts and leftover materials in the construction process. the external facades, as well as the roof structure, are covered with an impermeable blanket, ensuring watertightness against water or moisture. for the thermal and acoustic insulationof the building, the ‘sandwich’ system was used on the walls, formed by plasterboard, rock wool, chipboard slabs and permeable membrane.

central courtyard

detail southeast facade

overlapping facade volumes

kitchen and living room

stairs to first floor

kitchen

central courtyard illustration

exploded-view drawing

project info:

name: casa pasargada

architects: bernardo horta arquiteto, meius arquitetura

area: 168,60m²

location: nova lima, minas gerais, brasil

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom