Mashrabiya facade filters the sun in this 430 m² house in Bahia

The use of mashrabiya on the façade was the architectural solution found by architect Sidney Quintela to control the incidence of sunlight on this 430 m² house in Feira de Santana (BA), allowing a pleasant climate inside the residence and making the most of natural lighting and ventilation. The project, designed for a couple with three children, arose from the family's need for a home that would better suit the residents' daily routine and took advantage of part of the existing building, considerably reducing energy consumption and waste production. The result was wider spans and a contemporary style, straight lines and full integration between the interior and exterior. With a program distributed over two floors, one of the project's premises was to concentrate the social and living spaces on the ground floor , allowing them to be fully integrated with each other and also with the external area. This floor includes a large living room with double-height ceilings integrated with the dining room, kitchen, playroom, gourmet balcony, deck and swimming pool, in addition to service areas such as a pantry, laundry room, employee room, storage rooms and garage. The upper floor was chosen for the family's intimate spaces , which include four suites and a TV room with a mezzanine. All spaces have natural lighting, as well as cross ventilation, allowing for low energy consumption and providing thermal comfort.

Ipe wood was chosen as the main material, and is used in different formats throughout the residence: muxarabi on the window frames, slats on the ceiling, wainscoting on the deck and even smooth on the retractable panels closing off the kitchen . In contrast to the wood, the neutral base features stone and burnt cement textures, resulting in a building with a contemporary and urban style. "We used natural materials, such as stone and wood, in a neutral and sober color palette, so that the brighter colors would be reserved for the works of art and for the people who will use the spaces," says Quintela. The lighting design was designed to provide more dramatic lighting, using warm, focused lighting fixtures. In work areas and areas that are used most, such as the kitchen, utility area and bathrooms, the lighting is more uniform and intense.