Campeche Houses / Terra e Tuma Associated Architects
Area: 230 m² (2475 ft² )
Photographs: Débora Jank
Two friends and a shared plan: to build their homes in Florianópolis. The choice of a shared plot of land in Praia do Campeche was not only pragmatic but also symbolic. The challenge then arose of designing two independent residences on the same lot , without losing sight of the autonomy of each—nor the possibility of a closer, almost communal, coexistence.The plot, measuring 12 meters wide by 30 meters deep, was divided in half and subjected to the regulations, resulting in a buildable area of only 4.5 meters by 19 meters for each house. This spatial constraint guided the project, influencing decisions regarding site placement, construction system, and internal organization. The house emerges from the boundary—and responds to it with intelligence and precision.The result is a vertical and permeable architecture. On the ground floor, the double-height living area and large openings ensure cross-ventilation and natural light, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior. The master suite faces the rear, with direct access to the garden. Upstairs, two bedrooms complete the layout.The houses form an architectural ensemble that fosters respectful coexistence among neighbors who are also friends, without sacrificing privacy. There is a delicate balance between the common and the individual—an architectural gesture that, in the end, translates not only a way of living, but a way of relating to one another.
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I don’t hate it, and I actually love the airy living/dining/kitchen space, but I definitely would plaster all that exposed concrete block. I’ve never been a fan of naked block, and in this house it seems excessive.
7 comments
There are options in CMU texture and aggregate, and pigment admixtures that may or may not have available at this location. So sometimes you’ve got to go with what you’ve got. In this case I imagine that the plain old CMU block was readily available and cost effective. If the lot were not such a contraint, I’d be interested in seeing whether or not this could be done as a tilt up slab construction, or better yet, poured in place concrete with imprints of the formwork (think 1930’s concrete work with the impring of the wood grain from the formwork and how light hits it).
Will Jay
“…this could be done as a tilt up slab construction, or better yet, poured in place concrete with imprints of the formwork (think 1930’s concrete work with the impring of the wood grain from the formwork and how light hits it).”
Ooh! I like that!
I like the layout.
I feel like you’d have to really like the folks in the adjoining unit, with that many windows and spaces open to the other side.
Memory could be faulty, but I recall from childhood a time when concrete block could be obtained with various tints – shell pink, light green, light blue, light grey and dark grey.. Maybe this was just in certain parts of the country in the 60s when concrete block was a trending construction material, but just think – the walls could be varied colors of the block…
Okay, I just felt my “designer gene” hit a massive failure with that suggestion. I hope you all can erase visualizing that effect.
Here in the Southwest, it was only available in its natural color – with one exception that was what was called “slump” block, in which the molds were removed prior to the concrete setting up fully, allowing the material to “slump” and producing a more textured, slightly rounded texture. This was available in a couple different colors if memory serves: tan and dark grey in addition to the standard grey cement color. It—like regular concrete block here—was often painted, so its underlying color was unimportant.It was quite popular in the 70s and 80s, and even today you still see it being used.
I will gleefully tune in for the public Nurnberg-style hangings of this entire administration.