Casa CR JL: Rethinking the Relationship Between Terrain and Interior Landscapes

Site and Project Response to Terrain

Casa CR JL was established on a rugged plot located on the edge of a branch of the Ibiúna Reservoir in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The project reflects a careful reading of the site’s topography and surrounding landscape, where the steep slope of the plot and the prominent presence of water became key factors in shaping the architectural approach.

Harnessing the Site’s Characteristics

From the planning stage, the design did not merely adapt to the terrain but sought to transform it into new spatial opportunities. This includes creating distinctive landscapes and leveraging the slope to determine optimal locations for wings and internal pathways, enhancing both the visual and functional experience of the residence.

Flexible Design for Future Growth

The house was designed to accommodate a young couple, with emphasis on adaptability to future changes. To achieve this, the architects implemented a modular system that allows for harmonious future expansions, ensuring the home can evolve without compromising its overall character.

Architectural Challenge: Terrain vs. Ease of Movement

The project faced a primary challenge in reconciling the steep terrain with the need to provide clear and comfortable pathways for movement within the house. The goal was to maintain a seamless user experience while ensuring continuous visual integration with the adjacent reservoir.

Solution: Carefully Organized Levels

The solution relied on organizing access and functions across multiple carefully defined levels. This approach allowed the architecture to settle on the land in a balanced manner, avoiding extensive earthworks and preserving the site’s original nature.

Integration with the Landscape

Thanks to this thoughtful organization, the project was able to maintain a direct and sustainable relationship between all main spaces and the surrounding landscape. The result is a home that harmonizes perfectly with its site, offering a connected and flexible spatial experience.

Layered Organization of the House

The house is accessed through the ground floor, which provides a direct entry point and a smooth transition toward the staircase leading to the upper social floor. This upper level houses the main living spaces, designed to serve as the heart of daily life within the home.

Social Spaces and Views

On the social floor, the living room and gourmet kitchen are organized in an integrated layout, with large openings facing the reservoir. This arrangement prioritizes panoramic views and allows for cross-ventilation, enhancing both occupant comfort and the overall spatial experience.

Pool Integrated with the Natural Environment

At the edge of the upper level’s roof, the pool is precisely positioned so that its water surface aligns with the horizon, reinforcing the visual continuity between the house and the surrounding nature. This connection between interior spaces and the external environment reflects the design’s focus on user experience and seamless integration with its natural setting.

Ground Floor: Private Spaces Connected to Nature

The ground floor houses the home’s private and intimate areas, with the bedrooms designed to open directly onto the garden and the sloping terrain toward the water. This layout creates an immediate and direct connection between the interior and the surrounding nature, enhancing the experience of tranquility and privacy.

Terrain-Responsive Design

The arrangement of the bedrooms on this floor reflects a direct response to the terrain, as the natural slope allows for optimal use of natural light and uninterrupted views of the reservoir. In this way, the intimate spaces benefit from their proximity to the ground, maintaining continuous visual interaction with nature while ensuring a sense of privacy and comfort within the home.

Materials as Part of the Construction Logic

The materials used in Casa CR JL clearly reflect the project’s constructive logic. The lower floor is configured as a solid base using exposed precast concrete slabs, ensuring the building’s stability on the steep terrain.

Upper Floor and Sustainable Wood

The upper floor is enclosed with Accoya wood, selected for its high durability and resistance to weathering, enhancing the project’s long-term sustainability. This choice of building materials supports environmental responsibility and durability.

Continuity of Interior Spaces

Internally, the use of a single flooring material composed of cement slabs reinforces spatial continuity between different areas, creating a seamless and connected experience for users as they move between floors and spaces, emphasizing thoughtful interior design.

Clear and Sustainable Architectural Vision

By combining precise site placement, a modular system, and a direct relationship with the surrounding landscape, Casa CR JL exemplifies clear and sustainable architecture, capable of adapting to future changes without compromising the overall harmony of the project.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

Casa CR JL can be seen as a model illustrating how architecture can engage with challenging terrain and the surrounding landscape. On the positive side, the design highlights flexible solutions, such as the modular system and the possibility of gradual expansion, giving the project the capacity to adapt to future transformations.

However, the heavy reliance on the natural slope and multiple floor levels may present practical challenges, particularly regarding daily circulation, accessibility, and long-term building maintenance. Additionally, the emphasis on visual experience toward the landscape may limit the flexibility of space usage across different seasons or under harsh climatic conditions.

For those interested in the architectural field, the project serves as an example of integrating natural site conditions into spatial organization and sustainable materials, while highlighting the need to carefully balance aesthetic design with functional performance, especially in similar projects situated on steep terrain. The key takeaway is that leveraging a site’s natural characteristics always requires a careful balance between aesthetic value, operational comfort, and long-term sustainability. For further insights, the project is documented in the Archive of notable architectural works.