Built in a predominantly residential neighborhood in São Paulo, the MAJ House was designed based on the simplification of material and visual permeability.

Surrounded by other houses and lacking privileged views of the horizon, it was decided to concentrate the main mass in the front portion of the lot, directing the view to the garden in the rear area. From this, structurally, the house is designed in a very simple way: on a horizontal plane in concrete (slab) raised 50 centimeters from the ground, four reinforced concrete gables are subtly arranged – two of them at each end, the two being central diagonally – and that in turn configure trapezoidal volumes that accommodate the support spaces (kitchen, pantry, laundry, and service areas in the first of them; and home theater and toilet in the second). This solution made a 13-metre-long central free span that accommodates the living and dining room and is closed in glass frames that can be retracted, allowing integrating the internal space to the outside.

The central gables extrapolate the limits of the perimeter of the floor, towards the garden, so that they seem to float about the lawn. Perpendicular to the two concrete volumes, the eucalyptus glued laminated wood framework is placed about this, accommodating the intimate areas on the upper floor. This volume, in turn, is entirely built on a light structural system made of wood, developed in partnership with ITA Construtora, which allowed for quick execution, low waste production and quality of the parts.

On the ground floor, the counterpoint of the light tones of the surfaces of the concrete walls and slab floors, together with the warmth of the wood in the ceiling and furniture, makes the space cozy. In the living room furniture, iconic pieces of Brazilian design stand out, such as the São Conrado sofa and the Siri armchair by Cláudia Moreira Salles, composed together with other modern classics, such as the Akari-10A lamp by the Japanese-American designer Isamu Noguchi. Like the architecture itself, the idea of lightness is conveyed to the furniture, with pieces that the lower base does not fully touch the floor, but, raised, have structures that subtly touch the surface, such as the sofa by the Italian brand Poliform. The color is minimally introduced in the decorative objects, cushions and upholstery of the armchair by Claúdia Moreira Salles.

The central dining room table in solid wood, has the same wooden finish as the furniture in the living room, and a special design by Bernardes Arquitetura, accommodating up to 12 people. In the composition, 10 classic chairs of Scandinavian design, Wishbone and Round, by Hans Wegner, acquired by Artesian; and Hoffmann Chair, originally designed by Austrian Josef Hoffman. In the gourmet area, the cabinets are covered in matte ebony wood and the top and counter in Siena granite.

On the upper floor, wood predominates on the floor and joinery with Bernardes design. Children’s rooms have study spaces with storage areas. The master suite has a closet. At the back, the veranda integrated to all bedrooms and home office, with wooden ceiling and floor, receives diagonal vertical metal pieces with horizontal wooden brise-soleils, protecting from direct sunlight and allowing the breeze to flow.

Despite being an urban house, the palette of natural materials in construction and furniture, added to the integration solutions, brought the feeling of a summer or weekend home, in contrast, the visual permeability to the tropical garden with banana leaves, coconut trees and philodendrons, designed by Daniel Nunes.