delicate timber shutters shade FGMF's 'casa cumaru' in são paolo

a gardened home by fgmf arquitetos

Among the metropolitan expanse of São Paulo, where a growing collection of contemporary structures are woven into an historic urban fabric, the recently completed Casa Cumaru stands as the creation of the locally-based architecture studio FGMF Arquitetos. The residential structure is designed in celebration of the Brazilian city’s subtropical climate, integrating lush landscaping into its shaded courtyards, and filtering the hot sunlight with a facade of operable cumaru timber shutters.

images © Fran Parente | @franparente

the lightweight and ‘suspended’ structure

Covering an expansive 1,275 square meters, FGMF Arquitetos’ Casa Cumaru emerges as a residential oasis within São Paulo’s urban landscape. The architects succeed in balancing lightness and substance, achieved through an interplay of delicately suspended building elements. Notably, the upper floor’s volume seems to float atop four porticos, imparting an almost weightless quality to the glass-covered first floor below. This interplay between transparency and solidity resonates with the city’s evolving architectural ethos, where innovative designs seek to engage with both nature and urban life.

combatting the subtropical climate through passive cooling

At Casa Cumaru, FGMF Arquitetos’ structural ingenuity takes center stage. The upper floor’s suspended volume is a true marvel, where four concrete pillars provide essential support for the porticos on one side. On the opposite side, two pillars suspend a remarkable 22-meter-long metal truss. This truss serves as both a structural necessity and a canvas for creativity, featuring a facade adorned with movable wooden shutters known as brises. This assemblage serves a dual purpose — while contributing to the building’s aesthetics, it further serves to provide passive shading, an important cooling element in the sun-soaked climate of São Paulo.

casa cumaru: a house built of cumaru wood

The namesake element of Casa Cumaru is the generous use of cumaru wood. This distinctive wood species is the driving force behind the project’s name, and its presence is felt throughout the property. Slatted cumaru wood cladding envelops the structure, adding warmth and texture to the facade while establishing a rhythmic frame for the lush landscaping which fills the site. The prominence of wood blurs the boundary between the interior and the gardens, further enhanced by the thoughtfully integrated plantings that seamlessly meld spaces separated only by full-height sliding glass panels.

an array of timber shutters seem to float above the courtyard and swimming pool sliding panels of full-height glass create a subtle boundary between interiors and the garden beyond