The Casa Arbo residential complex project, developed by the Perkins&Will São Paulo studio, presents a modern vision of living that integrates architecture, landscape, and urban context into a single entity. The building is located on a quiet, tree-lined street in a São Paulo neighborhood that retains a significant part of the city's traditional residential architecture.
The main idea was to create a structure capable of providing the spatial quality, comfort, and connection to nature inherent in a home, while retaining the advantages of city life. Research initiated in 2019 showed that the solution for the site could not be based solely on technical limitations or programmatic requirements. Due to the unique shape of the plot, the project allowed for an exploration of new relationships between the built volume, open space, and spatial quality.
The resulting architectural solution emphasizes durability and precision, avoiding excessive formal gestures in favor of architecture based on design rigor, proportions, natural light, and materials. The complex consists of ten residential units distributed across one tower, allowing for a scale closer to the area's historic homes. The floor division of the mass follows the depth of the plot, reducing the perceived height of the building and ensuring its unobtrusive presence in the landscape.
Casa Arbo demonstrates its significance not through monumentality, but through harmonious integration into its surroundings, which enhances the daily experience of residents. Environmental consideration also defines the building's interaction with the city: expanding the pedestrian zone and incorporating vegetation at the street boundary takes the design beyond the ordinary limits of the plot, contributing to the creation of a more welcoming urban environment. As Fernando Vidal, lead specialist at Perkins&Will São Paulo and project manager, noted: 'Our project is both contemporary and timeless. We focused on the neighborhood context, analyzing the relationship with the street and pedestrians, to create a more attractive and integrated urban area—by widening the sidewalk and adding more greenery to the public space. This is a piece of urban design, not just building design.'
Central aspects of the project were abundant natural light, views of the surroundings, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces. Spacious terraces extend the living areas and enhance the sense of continuity with the landscape. Materials follow the same logic of restraint and durability: the combination of concrete and wood creates a dialogue between strength and warmth, forming a timeless character for the architecture. The design prioritizes structural clarity and the honesty of architectural elements, allowing the quality of the spaces to manifest naturally.
The search for essence also guides the technical solutions. Rationalized structure and construction systems increase the flexibility of the apartments, allowing for changes in internal configuration over time. Concurrently, the integration of architecture, structure, and engineering systems ensures a more efficient and cohesive solution that aligns with the vision that performance, comfort, and spatial quality are not independent goals, but rather mutually complementary dimensions of one project. The Perkins&Will team on Casa Arbo employs an approach that views architecture as a tool for strengthening connections between people, place, and environment, striving to create a lived experience based on light, nature, and flexibility, in harmony with the city.
The Casa Elementar project was presented by the design team. This house reinterprets the classic image of a country cottage, transforming it into a modern dwelling where architectural solutions are shaped by daily rituals, a creative approach, and a deep connection with nature.
The architectural bureau YUMI Architekci developed this residence, located in a quiet, wooded area near Warsaw. The plot, surrounded by mature vegetation and a garden, allowed for the creation of a sanctuary from urban hustle while maintaining comfort for year-round living.
The project presented by the Santa Marta Student Center in collaboration with the Mazzanti Team aims to create an architectural space that deeply integrates with the site, appropriating the environment and dissolving among the trees, recognizing the existing vegetation.
The space's roof was designed to merge with the landscaping, resulting in an environment reminiscent of a grove. In this concept, the architecture not only accompanies but also enhances the natural characteristics of the terrain.
This space was conceived as a place for meeting and interaction, where activities such as resting, dialogue, and playing are presented as complementary methods of learning. Students have the opportunity to explore the outdoor environment in various ways, whether relaxing, swinging, climbing, lying down, or jumping, all immersed in nature.
To support the dynamics of the location, sound and interaction devices were incorporated, which serve both to host events and to create ambient sound and act as a communication channel between students, reinforcing the participatory nature of the project.
The proposal includes a flexible structure, designed to adapt to the existing trees and operate as a network capable of growing and adjusting to the specific conditions of the site. Shade, considered an essential meeting point in the city, gave rise to a space that is simultaneously airy, shaded, and pleasant.
The Student Center organizes various zones designated for studying, meetings, relaxation, meals, and leisure. Furthermore, it incorporates a module containing restrooms and a cafeteria, establishing itself as the main convergence point for the entire student community.
The Treinta y Nueve Árboles house project, designed by Grizzo Studio, is located in the Karilo forest on a richly vegetated plot. Here, sunlight filtering through the canopies of dozens of trees illuminates the ground covered with climbing plants. The main objective of the project was to preserve this natural state, so the house is designed to harmonize with its surroundings, not trying to dominate them, but to integrate and intertwine with the trees.
Thus, the building transforms into an atrium for contemplating nature, guiding visitors into the forest so they can experience its atmosphere. The residential complex offers two ways to explore the forest: panoramic, which passes through the thicket both from inside and outside, and ascending, achieved via glass walkways connecting different levels. These paths allow one to understand the structure of the forest by tracing it from the roots to the treetops.
Since this is a summer retreat house, the experience of staying in the project is realized through two routes. The first runs inside the building: starting from a semi-submerged vestibule, the middle levels lead to the entire program of the house, concluding at a terrace at the level of the tree canopy. The second route invites a walk around the perimeter, first crossing the inner courtyard and the semi-open area with a fireplace at the root level, and then reaching the garden, pool, and veranda of the house.
The choice of materials for the project was made so that they would not attract excessive attention, but rather coexist with nature, allowing vegetation and the passage of time to transform and colonize the structure.
