Casa en el Aire, a single-family residence designed by Marcela Carranza, is located in San Mateo de Alajuela, Costa Rica. The project was developed on terrain characterized by a steep slope and a prominent landscape. The central idea of the project was to meet the need for housing through a discreet architectural intervention.
To achieve this, the house was elevated on stilts, avoiding massive support on the ground. This elevation serves to reduce earth movement, ensure ecological continuity beneath the structure, prevent blockage of rainwater runoff, and prevent flooding. Thus, it became possible to make a complex location habitable while maintaining the necessary accessibility and comfort for elderly residents.
The syntactic arrangement of the project is based on an 'L' shape, which divides the space into two distinct areas: the social and the intimate. This geometry was chosen not only for functional reasons but also from a careful analysis of the terrain itself. The building was positioned set back behind an existing tree, which was maintained as an environmental and perceptual focal point of the complex.
Because of this decision, the vegetation ceased to be merely a backdrop and began to function as a spatial structure. It filters views, moderates the arrival experience, provides shade, accompanies the path, and creates a relationship of coexistence between the built environment and the natural ecosystem.
The most important architectural element of the project is the perimeter veranda, which also has an 'L' shape. This veranda fulfills multiple functions: it serves as a circulation area, a place of stay, a climatic barrier, and a space for social interaction. Its wide and continuous design alludes to local construction traditions in Costa Rica, where the veranda traditionally functions as a transition zone between the interior and exterior, as well as a domestic space dedicated to rest, contemplation, and gatherings.
This cultural reference was adopted not out of mere aesthetic nostalgia, but due to its environmental intelligence. The veranda offers protection against solar incidence and rain, optimizes cross-ventilation, and increases the various ways the space can be used daily.
The selection of materials used reinforces this contextual reading of the project. Wood, metal, and light cladding were applied with a clear constructive logic, avoiding any appearance of unnecessary grandeur. The elevated structure, the large roofs, the louvers that allow air passage, the movable panels, and the open surfaces facing the landscape define a contemporary tropical architecture that demonstrates attention to climate and the precise use of available resources.
The project recognizes that, in the context of Costa Rica, housing cannot be understood separately from topography, humidity, the presence of shade, biodiversity, and cultural customs related to outdoor life. Casa en el Aire manages to establish harmony with the terrain, proving that housing can meet specific demands—such as comfort, privacy, accessibility, and family life—without simply turning the lot into a passive support. The work uses the delicacy of the ecosystem as a design criterion, proposing a light, open domestic life deeply connected to its context.
The Casa Aroeira project was conceived based on the analysis of the particularities of a steeply sloped plot of land, located in a closed condominium in the interior of São Paulo. The residence was planned to take advantage of an exuberant view, optimizing the implantation on the lot.
Due to the strong inclination of the land, the house was structured in its upper section. This arrangement allows for guaranteeing the best possible views and uses the corner of the lot to create two distinct types of access.
One of the accesses is level for pedestrians, serving on the side street, while vehicles use the lower street to access the garage.
The Casa Pisçude project, developed by Revvero Arq in collaboration with Mariana Bet Arquitetura, is located in the Vale dos Vinhedos region, in the city of Garibaldi, Rio Grande do Sul state. The history of this house is connected to a unique feature of the plot: it is the only plot in the condominium where a natural pond, left by the previous owner, has been preserved.
Before construction began, the clients transformed this pond into a pool, which was used in the summer for recreation with family and friends. It was from this game, which became the official name of the project, that the term 'Pisçude' originated, as it resembled a pond more than a traditional pool.
When it was time to design the residential house, it became clear that naming it otherwise would be incorrect.
Casa Refúgio, located in the suburbs of Santiago de Querétaro, was conceived as a residence that values family life, flexibility, and intimacy, especially in an increasingly dense urban setting.
Externally, the building presents itself as a contained and almost hermetic block, designed to protect the interior and create an atmosphere of serenity upon approach. Access to the house is gradual, slowly revealing the social area—composed of the living room, dining room, and kitchen—where an extensive backyard serves as a visual boundary, allowing vegetation to envelop the walls.
In this space, the visual focus is contained and intimate, and curtains help soften the area, keeping it present but without total exposure. The staircase, inserted into a cradle vault, functions as the central axis of the house, connecting the different floors, filtering light, and following the daily rhythm of the residents.
On the ground floor, the family office is integrated with an internal garden featuring a double-height ceiling. A large window permeates this space, establishing a constant link between the space, the vegetation, and the variable light throughout the year. In the late afternoon, stained glass windows on the roof project colors onto the walls of the internal patio, creating a place conducive to contemplation. Parallelly, the bedrooms on this level extend into gardens, promoting a natural and personal environment.
The second floor houses the master suite, organized around a voluminous exposed concrete curved element. This component subtly conceals the bathroom area, avoiding the rigidity of orthogonal or completely closed divisions, defining the space and facilitating the transition between bedroom and bathroom.
A circular skylight above the bathtub directly illuminates the space, transforming the bathing moment into a tranquil pause. In contrast, a workspace opens up to the double-height ceiling of the downstairs living room, maintaining visual and auditory communication. The project avoids isolating the floors, seeking to maintain proximity among inhabitants and allow life to flow between different levels without the need for constant movement.
On the terrace, the function of the house changes; the elements that introduce light—such as domes, skylights, and curved forms—appear as independent structures. Initially conceived as a meditation space, this level has been adapted for leisure, where architecture transcends the function of mere container and becomes a backdrop.
In summary, Casa Refúgio establishes a way of living sensitive to temporal changes, being a dwelling that adapts and accompanies life according to the season or time of day. This sensitivity is reflected in the interaction with the landscape, present in all rooms through controlled patios and gardens, ensuring that nature is close. The project aims to prevent the floors from becoming isolated units, configuring them as interconnected spaces through visuals, sounds, and daily presence, keeping domestic life active between the environments.
