Projected by Cornetta Arquitetura, the Pinhal single-family home reflects the owners' lifestyle; it was conceived as a mountain weekend retreat that is comfortable for daily use yet capable of accommodating the family for extended stays.
On the main floor, the kitchen, dining area, and living room form a large, open-plan space alongside the master suite. Upstairs, three guest suites and a home office are distributed across two wings connected by a walkway overlooking the double-height living area, allowing the home to function effectively as a single-story residence.
Large windows combine with high ceilings and deep roof overhangs; the latter filter out excessive solar radiation during warmer months and help maintain thermal balance throughout the year. A viewing terrace facing the landscape extends the social area.
Pinhal House by Cornetta Arquitetura. Photography by Manuel Sá.
Project description by Cornetta Arquitetura
In Santo Antônio do Pinhal, São Paulo State, Brazil, in the heart of the Serra da Mantiqueira, Casa Pinhal was born from a rare encounter between architectural ambition and conservation. Situated on a 4,900 m² plot with a steep slope and established native vegetation, the 690 m² residence was designed based on a clear principle: to impact the site as little as possible while still constructing a generously sized house capable of accommodating family life, mountain retreats, and the landscape as the protagonist.
Apart from the concrete base, the construction was conceived using glued laminated eucalyptus wood, wood frame, drywall, and dry slabs, in a system that reduces the consumption of materials, accelerates construction, and favors a cleaner, more precise, and easier-to-maintain building logic.
The program was designed to meet the needs of the owners, a couple seeking a weekend home in the mountains, with comfortable daily use and the capacity to accommodate family during visits. On the main floor, the kitchen, dining room, and living room form a large integrated space, next to the master suite. On the upper floor, three suites and an office are distributed in two wings connected by a walkway over the double-height ceiling of the living room.
More than a formal gesture, the double-height ceiling is a central part of the house’s environmental performance. In a region marked by cold nights and high temperature variations, the project was designed to efficiently capture the morning sun, warming the spaces throughout the day. Large glazed areas work in conjunction with the internal height and deep eaves, which filter excessive sunlight during the warmer months and help maintain thermal balance throughout the year. The result is a passive, resilient house attuned to the local climate, where comfort does not depend on excessive technology, but on site layout, solar orientation, ventilation, and design.
This same logic appears in the project’s material expression. The lower floor explicitly shows its relationship with the terrain through exposed concrete, raw stone, and a denser language. Above, the house takes on a lighter, more horizontal tone, marked by wood, transparency, and a long brise-soleil that enhances the street-facing facade, controlling privacy and light. On the opposite facade, the one that opens to the view, the contrast between concrete and wood dissolves under the filter of the existing tree canopies.
One of the project’s highlights is the viewpoint that extends the social area and connects the main residence to a second volume dedicated to wellness, with a spa, sauna, gym, and hot tubs. Facing the landscape, this pathway reinforces the experience of living in the mountains intensely, without resorting to obvious gestures or high-impact solutions. There, the view expands to the vegetation of the plot itself and reaches Pedra do Baú, one of the most emblematic geographical landmarks of the region.
At night, the house changes its register. With the internal lighting reflected in the wood, concrete, and glass panels, the volume lights up in the middle of the woods like a silent lantern. The trees begin to act as silhouettes, the architecture gains presence, and the project reveals once again its main quality: the ability to belong to the place without needing to dominate it.
