Threading its way through a lush rainforest site, the treetop house Casa Açucena is a spectacular example of architecture integrated with nature. The new house was designed by Belo-Horizonte-based practice Tetro, established by the architects Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, and Igor Macedo. Set on a steeply sloping site in the Nova Lima region in the Southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Casa Açucena is woven into the forest.
Casa Açucena: a treetop house by Tetro Architects
Casa Açucena is raised up on slender pilotis that march down the hillside, carefully interspersed between existing trees and shrubs. The architects describe the project as ‘a response to a sensitive reading of the terrain.’
The floorplan reflects this, weaving between the larger trees on the site, with rooms set at angles to maximise the best views across the forest canopy. At the highest point of the site, a carport and auxiliary structure lead down to secondary accommodation on the main level below, opening out onto a large deck leading across to the main body of the house.
Sliding glass doors lead straight onto an open plan living room, kitchen and dining area, with existing trees weave into the architecture at the edge of the room. A study ‘bridge’ leads across to two bedrooms, including the principal suite, while an additional bedroom and study room are located on the lowest level, accessed via an orange steel spiral staircase.
The main deck also incorporates a lozenge-shaped pool, raised high above the treetops and affording a look back on the snaking main body of the house. The house is painted white, atop black columns, creating an illusion of a floating structure weaving through the canopy. A green roof helps camouflage the structure from above, while faceted rooflights are located above the major living spaces to add height and bring in sunlight.
The architects describe this juxtaposition as if the house were a ‘white flower in the midst of nature,’ and design decisions like the apparently random scattering of columns add to the organic feel.
‘Our initial understanding was that the architecture should mould itself to the terrain, and not the other way around,’ the architects say, ‘the program shapes itself as a harmonious balance of art and nature, occupying the empty spaces between the trees, without removing any or altering the topography.’
