Stone House São Paulo: Indoor-Outdoor Design

Location and Context

This summer villa is located within the city of São Paulo, offering a balance between urban life and family privacy. The design caters to the needs of a large family, with a focus on creating connected and flexible spaces that accommodate various daily activities.

Open Design While Maintaining Privacy

The house features a U-shaped design, an architectural approach that enhances communication between different areas of the home while maintaining privacy when needed. This shape allows the interior spaces to open towards shared living areas, fostering a sense of spaciousness and openness.

Indoor-Outdoor Relationship

The central pool serves as the heart of the villa, functioning as an open courtyard that connects the different spaces. Through this element, a continuous interaction between the building and the exterior space is achieved, reflecting a deep architectural understanding of the importance of integrating indoor and outdoor areas in family home design.

Symmetrical view of the swimming pool reflecting the stone house and sun umbrellas under a clear sky. — Reflections in the pool emphasize the horizontal lines and the architectural rhythm of the stone pillars. (Image © Fran Parente)

Modern swimming pool area at Stone House with sun loungers on a wooden deck and stone facade in the background. — The leisure area is designed as a direct extension of the living spaces, anchored by a linear pool and a textured stone backdrop. (Image © Fran Parente)

Architectural floor plan of Stone House in São Paulo showing the U-shaped layout and room distribution. — The architectural plan reveals a functional layout centered around a large private courtyard and pool. (Courtesy of Basiches Arquitetos Associados)

Wide-angle view of the outdoor lounge area at Stone House with green bean bags and a view towards the pool. — Modern furniture pieces are strategically placed to encourage social interaction while enjoying the surrounding views. (Image © Fran Parente)

Architectural Character and Building Materials

The “Stone” house blends contemporary and rustic character through the use of four solid soft stone walls. These walls not only define the spaces but also create a harmonious connection between the interior and exterior, reflecting an architectural approach that emphasizes fluidity and integration between different environments.

In the right wing dedicated to social interaction, the living room, dining area, and covered terrace are designed to connect directly to the pool, enhancing the visual and sensory experience for the residents. Simultaneously, a metal structure supports the large roof extension, allowing for spacious, unobstructed areas, while fully retractable frames enhance the sense of openness and enable seamless integration between interior and exterior spaces.

Visual Fluidity and Material Integration

The use of travertine flooring contributes to visual continuity across the social area, creating a seamless flow between the architectural elements and imparting a sense of comfort and cohesion in the design.

Large shaded terrace at Stone House with comfortable white sofas, wooden armchairs, and a view of the lush garden. — The deep wooden overhang provides essential shade, transforming the veranda into a primary living room for the family. (Image © Fran Parente)

Luxurious interior of Stone House showing a wooden ceiling, stone feature wall, a dining area, and a leather-themed living room. — Inside, the warmth of the wooden ceiling panels contrasts beautifully with the rugged texture of the internal stone walls. (Image © Fran Parente)

Organizational Layout of the House

The U-shaped structure forms the heart of the home’s architectural design, creating an interesting promenade with openings overlooking the pool. This passage not only adds visual appeal but also establishes a clear distinction between social and private areas, reflecting an architectural understanding of a family’s need to balance openness with privacy.

Private Wing and Sleeping Areas

The promenade provides access to the left wing of the house, which contains all private spaces. The program includes four bedrooms, a master suite, a play area, an office, and a home theater.

Relationship with the Outdoor Environment

The four pool-facing rooms offer direct views of the home’s aquatic core, while the other four rooms overlook private gardens. This arrangement enhances visual variety and interaction with the surrounding nature, adding an extra layer of privacy and tranquility to the residence.

Side view of Stone House in São Paulo featuring rustic stone walls, a long wooden eave, and a manicured green lawn under a clear blue sky. — The rhythmic placement of rustic stone pillars creates a powerful dialogue between the solid structure and the open garden. (Image © Fran Parente)

Symbolic Organization of Spaces

The house’s design divides the overall program into three main areas: social, private, and service. This division reflects a balanced architectural approach between shared activities, private life, and supportive functions, facilitating movement and enhancing the practical use of spaces.

Aesthetic Crowning with Ceramic Tiles

The house is crowned with three sections of ceramic tiles, a mandatory feature in this residential complex. Here, however, they are embraced enthusiastically, referencing rural heritage while simultaneously adding aesthetic and structural lightness to the building. This reflects the balance between function and beauty in modern architectural design.

Exterior corner view of the Stone House showing the clay tile roof and the thick stone masonry walls in bright sunlight. — Combining traditional clay tiles with contemporary stone volumes creates a modern vernacular aesthetic. (Image © Fran Parente)

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

Although the design of the Stone house offers clear solutions to enhance the openness between indoor and outdoor spaces and provides a logical division between social and private areas, some aspects may raise practical and architectural questions. For instance, the heavy reliance on open façades facing the pool enhances visual connectivity and a sense of spaciousness, but it may require additional measures to manage privacy, shading, and protection from direct sunlight. Similarly, the use of four solid stone walls provides visual cohesion and reflects the integration of rustic and contemporary character, yet it poses challenges regarding thermal and acoustic insulation, especially in the climate of large cities like São Paulo.

On the other hand, the distribution of rooms overlooking the pool and gardens allows visual variety and interaction with nature, although maintaining this balance may require careful upkeep of the exterior spaces and surrounding infrastructure. From a broader architectural perspective, the project can be seen as a practical case study for exploring the relationship between open-home design and family privacy, as well as testing ways to integrate traditional materials with contemporary solutions. The potential takeaway lies in understanding how to achieve visual and functional fluidity in large spaces while being mindful of the practical constraints that may emerge over long-term use.