A house without windows sounds stifling, hot, and claustrophobic. On the contrary, Casa Tupin feels open and airy. Local studio Bloco Arquiteto surrounded the residential home with brick screens and formed wide entry portals so it feels welcoming and connected with nature.
Supported by 12 pillars, the 420-square-metre (4,520-square-foot) residence located in a gated community 20 kilometres from Brasília is rectangular in form. At its core is a large central courtyard that connects interior and exterior areas of the home, while also serving as a space for leisure.
Bloco Arquitetos didn’t puncture walls to create windows or add expansive glazing for Casa Tupin. Instead, coral-coloured bricks formed as solid walls or screens provide more than ventilation and filtered light. They also extend the home’s interior views outwards to integrate the landscape.
“A house without windows, that is a window itself – rather than opening punctual views, the project seeks to transform the entire architectural body into a mediator between interior life and the surrounding landscape,” the studio told Dezeen. This method “engages the environment through performance rather than transparency.”
The brick screens occupy the vertical planes between the raised concrete slab and the deep roof. They protect Casa Tupin from excessive heat and filter air throughout the interior of the house. Apart from the brick screens, the house’s layout also ensures cross-ventilation, with three-quarters of the plan elevated above the ground.
The elevation allows the house to pull natural air from beneath it. It also protects the surrounding topography and its living inhabitants. Likewise, elevating the home encourages the growth of native plants underneath the structure.
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Images courtesy of Bloco Arquitetos/Joana França
