Located in a gated community in
Araxá (MG), this
house of
720 m², with two floors, was designed and built from scratch by the office
Paula Gonçalves Reis Arquitetura on a plot of 845 m², already considering the areas that would accommodate the
gardens. Therefore, the landscaping project commissioned to the landscape architect
Flávia D’Urso – from the cast of
CASACOR Minas Gerais – was developed parallel to the architecture.
The owners – a couple of entrepreneurs with two children – wanted the
landscaping to "embrace" the house and ensure the family's privacy within it, since it was built on a corner lot, with very exposed facades.
They also requested an olive tree at the entrance of the residence, not only because they admire its green foliage with a slight silver hue but also because of its symbolism of representing peace, longevity, and prosperity. Flávia reports that she used about
27 varieties of plant species, including ground covers, shrubs, trees, and palm trees, to compose the garden at the entrance, the facade, around the gym, the swimming pool, and the planter in the couple's suite, all in a contemporary tropical style. "Right at the entrance of the residence, we used planters of different heights, with
ground cover of zamias, long stems, and rounded leaves, and date palms," informs the landscaper. "In this same entrance, we created a small bed further back, lined with
xanadus, with small leaves, featuring a round and full-crowned olive tree", she adds.
At the corner of the residence, a set of
voluminous guaimbês stands out, creating a striking green mass for this section of the building, with some
solitary palms, with long leaves, that overlap the plants in the masonry planter on the upper floor, full of agapanthus. In the lower facade of the lot, Flávia explored species with varied textures and heights, in two levels of planters. At the sidewalk level, the planter was filled with
undulating imbés, xanadus, and a well-voluminous patch of cigar marantas. At the back of the same planter,
seven carpenter palms, with thin trunks and tall crowns, were planted. The higher planter, which is at the terrace level, received
dense viburnums, providing more privacy for the pool area.
In the garden next to the external gym, the landscape architect planted
three native palms of the carandás species (with uniquely textured trunks and fan-shaped leaves), along with green fórmios (with elongated leaves) on the side.
Surrounding the pool, a
narrow bed covered with agapanthus (with voluminous leaves and delicate purple flowers), with Rabo de Raposa palms (on the facade side) and
veitcha palms (on the wall side) were lined up along its entire length.
"In this project, we worked with low-maintenance species that preserve the same appearance year-round and become even more attractive over time," concludes the landscape architect Flávia D’Urso.
