House in Ribeirão Preto
The site for this single-family house originally sloped but has since been levelled and reconfigured to form a series of open boxes cut into ground. These regular wells accomodate four columms that carry the apparently weightless concrete container that is the house. Horizontal slabs of concrete, which define the interior upper and lower extremities of the courtyard-style house, are supported by up-stand beams located on top of the house. This carefully engineered design allows the interior spaces to remain free of columms while ensuring that the entire structure is effectively braced. Great sheets of glazing encase the living area at the front of the house, so that the eye can foloow the framework from exterior to interior and puzzle the physics of the construction. Private and public areas are distincted by the U-shaped plan, while the kitchen does the connection between these two aspects of family life.
