Studio MK27 designed the 400-square-metre Casa Azul with a concrete structure raising above the tropical forest ground on concrete pilotis also, supporting two rectangular stacked concrete volumes, slightly offset from one another.
To reduce the impact on the ground, the amorphous ground floor was left free, covered with a wooden platform that is finished off with a blue swimming pool. This decision protects the house from the excessive humidity of the jungle and makes the home appear to float above the rainforest floor. The landscaping was done by Rodrigo Oliveira.
Above this space free (and only with a small facility program), the staircase gives access to the two stacked volumes that develop the house program. On the first level, an open, loft-style floor plan, has openings with a telescoping glass-panel system on both sides to allow cross-ventilation, facilitating a more direct connection with nature and framing views of the crowns that top the surrounding trees.
Casa Azul by Studio MK27. Photograph by André Scarpa
Casa Azul by Studio MK27. Photograph by André Scarpa.
The second level houses four bedrooms, each looking out over the rainforest’s roof. This floor stands out for its elegant wooden screens, mounted in front of glass panels as latticework, so characteristic of Arab culture in the Iberian Peninsula.
Studio MK27 originally planned to paint these screens in their traditional light blue, the same colour that accents most of the historic Portuguese colonial structures across Brazil, hence the name Casa Azul. However, the team eventually opted for a natural wood finish on the screens to further blend the house with the forest, rather than draw a contrast. Despite the change, the ‘Blue House’ moniker was retained.
To reduce the impact on the ground, the amorphous ground floor was left free, covered with a wooden platform that is finished off with a blue swimming pool. This decision protects the house from the excessive humidity of the jungle and makes the home appear to float above the rainforest floor. The landscaping was done by Rodrigo Oliveira.
Above this space free (and only with a small facility program), the staircase gives access to the two stacked volumes that develop the house program. On the first level, an open, loft-style floor plan, has openings with a telescoping glass-panel system on both sides to allow cross-ventilation, facilitating a more direct connection with nature and framing views of the crowns that top the surrounding trees.
Casa Azul by Studio MK27. Photograph by André Scarpa
Casa Azul by Studio MK27. Photograph by André Scarpa.
The second level houses four bedrooms, each looking out over the rainforest’s roof. This floor stands out for its elegant wooden screens, mounted in front of glass panels as latticework, so characteristic of Arab culture in the Iberian Peninsula.
Studio MK27 originally planned to paint these screens in their traditional light blue, the same colour that accents most of the historic Portuguese colonial structures across Brazil, hence the name Casa Azul. However, the team eventually opted for a natural wood finish on the screens to further blend the house with the forest, rather than draw a contrast. Despite the change, the ‘Blue House’ moniker was retained.
