In Piauí, a house with a concrete facade and wooden brises seems to float

In 2016, a young couple of entrepreneurs purchased two plots of land (with a total area of 1020 m²) within a gated community in Teresina (PI), to build their dream home, and commissioned a project from architect Vangii Guerra – from the cast of CASACOR Piauí – which was completed in the same year. However, since the construction of the house only began in 2021, the completion took place in the first semester of this year, resulting in a property with 980 m² of built area, two floors, and six parking spaces. "The client has a passion for cars and asked us for four external parking spaces and two internal ones, one of which is in the line of sight from the living room," Vangii says. The facade of the house facing the street resembles a large suspended concrete box, with a front cutout filled with slats of hollow wood and natural plants, which function as brises. The 'box', which extends 12 linear meters in cantilever, rests on a smaller receded volume (clad in dark wood slats) and a lateral pillar, covered with Moledo stones. Meanwhile, the back facade, facing the garden, incorporated a black aluminum structure, which is perforated in the pool area, serving as a pergola. According to the architect, overall, the project concept aimed to create a timeless contemporary house, where the living room, internal garage, gourmet support area, and balcony with pool integrate on the ground floor, forming a unique, spacious, and well-lit area. The upper floor houses five suites (with the couple's suite having two closets and two bathrooms), an intimate living room, and a gym. Among the highlights of the project, Vangii emphasizes the sculptural staircase designed by her (executed in concrete with steps of brushed granite and a metal sheet guardrail), the living room walls either covered in walnut slats or in natural stones, the high ceiling in the living area, the woodwork panels in the muxarabi pattern that separate the garage from the living area (with a bi-fold opening system) and the garage entry hall (pivoting on its own axis), the climate-controlled wine cellar from floor to ceiling in front of the dining table, the 'green' wall that delineates the external area at the back of the house, and the pool with a spa area entirely clad in travertine marble.

In the decoration, everything is new, highlighting some furniture signed by Brazilian designers, such as the Mole armchair with stool and the pair of Diz armchairs (by Sergio Rodrigues), the 25 Fluida pendant lamps in blown glass with nickel (by Ana Neute), the Marquesa bench (by Oscar Niemeyer), the Icon bookshelf (by Jader Almeida), the Orla coffee tables (by Danilo Beluci), the Cerrado sofa, the Sol chair, and the Guará outdoor loungers (by Giácomo Tomazzi). To create a sophisticated atmosphere, the architect adopted a palette of colors in neutral and sober tones, ranging from gray to black, with off-white in between, and added touches of olive green and wine in the living room, and terracotta in the couple's bedroom. Both the joinery and the wood structure of the furniture have a darker tone to create a visual unity in the spaces. "Our biggest challenge in this project was to meet the clients' needs within a relatively small plot of land," concludes architect Vangii Guerra.