Natural architecture: Housing without damage to the environment

A new trend creates homes that don’t damage their environment.
It is known as natural architecture and pays tribute to the environment.
The design of the residence was inspired by the verticality of the forest.

Anchored to the natural legacy of the site, this home pays tribute to the capuchin monkeys that had allegedly disappeared from this site due to the yellow fever. Built in Paraty, a Brazilian city that belongs to Rio de Janeiro, the house was established in a town characterized by its borders of abundant bascosity, so the volumetry of the construction replicates the physiognomy of its surroundings in order to merge into its mountainous entity.

“When we started to think of a house that connects with the magnitude of the trees, a tribe of capuchin monkeys appeared there. They came back and showed us why, where and how to do the project,” said Marko Brajovic, creative director of Atelier Marko Brajovic, the firm responsible for the work.

A home that pays tribute

The supporting structure of the house was determined from the endemic plants and their adaptation to the terrain. Photo: Reform Agency

Directly from the conditions of the place, the design of the residence was inspired by the verticality of the forest, so that its triangular approach responds to this conceptual allegory and visual similarity, in addition to seeking the immediate connection with the surrounding animal and plant species.

Assuming the configuration of this natural portion, the arrangement of the house mutates the horizontal understanding that prevails in the construction of a residential architectural work, thus betting on the perception of the forest in a vertical way. «The House of the monkeys was set up in an area of secondary forest, installed between trees, occupying a small area of five meters wide and six long, canceling the interference in the local vegetation, with a total area of 86 square meters» , detailed the architect.

Intelligence and design

Built in Paraty, a Brazilian city that belongs to Rio de Janeiro, the house was settled in a town characterized by its borders of abundant bascosity, so the volumetry of the construction replicates the physiognomy of its surroundings. Photo: Reform Agency

According to the also architect, the flow of energy, matter and information on the growth of trees is pursued, resulting in a vertical connection, seeking the energy of its environment in the direction of the sunlight. In this sense, the program responds to this, even on the last level of the house an observatory was created in order to appreciate nature and maintain a close relationship from a completely regenerative perspective.

The supporting structure of the house was determined from the endemic plants and their adaptation to the terrain. Emulating this plant process, thin pillars of higher density were created, replicating the morphology of the roots of the juçara palm. This imitation ensures the stability of the construction as well as the roots of the plant. The juçara is an endemic palm tree of the Atlantic Forest, whose roots allow its structure, distributing its weight in the diversity of its stems.

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