Casa RR, Brasil : Architecture Information + Images

R.R. House Architects: Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Photos : Nelson Kon This summer house is situated only a few meters from the sea, on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, a place with exuberant vegetation and hot humid climate. We began the project with the idea of a big shelter, a “shell”, under which the actual living spaces would be located, protected from the intense sun and the frequent rains, however without blocking the permanent natural cross ventilation. This roof at a height of six meters, with a surface of eighteen by eight meters, was built using a pre-fabricated timber structure with galvanized steel joints. The lateral and top faces are made of steel cladding with EPS filling. On the two large facades of the house, opening generously to the scenery, panels of glass fiber mosquito screens with PVC coating were installed, pivoting or sliding, with the intention of creating an external membrane, capable of keeping the insects out, without creating an obstacle for the ocean view and wind. The whole structure is elevated 75cm above ground level, supported by concrete pillars cast on site. All other components used in the construction are pre-fabricated and were simply mounted in place on the construction site. The adopted constructive system, besides reducing assembly time and errors, assured a dry construction site, with little generation of waste and low environmental impact. Casa RR - Building Information PROJECT: R.R. House LOCATION: Itamambuca – SP, Brazil SITE AREA: 500m2 TOTAL FLOOR AREA: 220 m2 PROJECT: 2006 COMPLETION: 2007 ARCHITECTS: Vinicius Andrade, Marcelo Morettin COORDINATOR: Merten Nefs PROJECT TEAM: Marcio Tanaka, Marcelo Maia Rosa, Marina Mermelstein, Renata Andrulis PHOTOS: Nelson Kon TIMBER STRUCTURE: Ita Construtora CONTRACTOR: Vicente Ganzelevitch FOUNDATION: Eng. Pedro Negri ELECTRICS: Eng. Nilton Jose Maziero SUPPLIERS: Masisa Brasil (OSB), Udinese-Papaiz (mosquito screens), Reka (lighting), Sicmol (glass tablets), Estrumec (cladding and metal frames) PUBLICATIONS _Azure Magazine: Summer Homes, jul/2008. Toronto, Canada _www.architeria.eu, jul/2008. Poland _D'a d'architectures 174, jun/2008. SEA/Innovapresse, France _L'Arca No. 237, jun/2008. L'Arca Edizioni, Italy _Architecture plus a+, may/2008. Inhouse Creative, Dubai, United Arab Emirates _VIEW No. 95, may/2008. China Eastern Airlines, China _Perspective, apr/2008. Perspective Ltd., China _Casa Vogue 272, apr/2008. Carta Editorial, São Paulo, Brazil _Arquitetura e Construo: Casas Contemporeas, jan/2008. Editora Abril, São Paulo, Brazil _NOZ No. 2 – Revista da PUC-RJ, 2008. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil _Projeto Design No. 333, nov/2007. Arco, Brazil _Arquitectura Viva 127, oct/2007. Spain _Morar – Revista da Folha, oct/2007. Folha de São Paulo, Brazil São Paulo House images / information from Andrade Morettin Arquitetos 090908 Brazilian Building Brazilian Architect Studios Andrade Morettin Associated Architects, São Paulo, Brasil RR House São Paulo - Brazil 2007 Introduction In our practice we like to think of each project as being part of an ongoing search to develop appropriate solutions to our reality. We also believe that architecture should be adapted carefully to its specific context: its beauty is a result of its capacity to respond to local conditions. Given the socio-economic conditions of our country (vast territory and urgent shortage of low-cost housing), we wanted this project to serve as a prototype, a concept that could be reproduced. Notion of Place We see each project as a challenge not only to develop a design for a specific lot, but rather to point out solutions that could be applied to almost the entire national territory. In the next step, these solutions could be extended to a macro-region identified not by its geopolitical limits, but by its bioclimatic characteristics. This macro-region is the humid tropical zone, which occupies almost 50% of the inter-tropic region of the planet. It is characterized by intense solar radiation, high rainfall index, high temperatures with little fluctuation, and high humidity. Besides the climatic properties, some common socio-cultural factors need to be considered. For example, the economic condition in the global scenario – many “developing” countries are located in this region –, as well as the growing urbanization of their societies and the lack of housing in the context of pressure by demographic growth. Within this region local architectural typologies can be identified by looking at some common characteristics. These characteristics provide a number of basic elements that can be used in the process of creating a project that is well-adapted to the specific context. We choose to work with an architectural repertoire that reinterprets some of these local solutions. Specific context This is a summer house situated at a distance of only a few meters of the sea, on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, a place with exuberant vegetation and hot humid climate (part of the Tropical Atlantic region). It was designed for a young couple who wanted an environmentally friendly house that could be built on a low budget. Local climatic conditions: Latitude: 23º 23´ south Longitude: 44º 59´ west Altitude: 0m Maximum annual temperature: 27º- 32º C – summer Minimum annual temperature: 20º-25º C - winter Annual precipitation: up to 200mm/month – summer 50mm/month – winter Wind speed: the prevalent wind direction is SE and the average wind speed is around 3m / s Bioclimatic Performance / Environmental Performance Based on the belief that good design can reduce the carbon footprint more than technological supplements and considering the quality of the environment (humid tropical region), shade and ventilation are understood as essential strategic resources to achieve good bioclimatic performance. The broad cross ventilation of the house, besides providing for the comfort of the users, maximizes the air flow that reaches the buildings situated beyond the project’s limits (neighbors). Instead of deploying expensive green technologies, this house seeks to respond to the ecological issues basically by means of reduction, with economical use of materials: “Lightness”. Based on passive principles, the building demands a minimal consumption of energy for operation and maintenance. Materials with a small mass or thermal inertia were employed, avoiding the accumulation of heat during the day, since the nights are equally hot. The use of bright surfaces also minimizes the absorption of solar radiation. The possibility of producing clean energy on the site, however, is not abandoned. Depending on the financial situation of the owners, photovoltaic panels can be installed on the roof. Final Design We began the design with the idea of a big shelter, a “shell”, under which the actual living spaces would be located, protected from the intense sun and the frequent rains, however without blocking the permanent natural cross ventilation. This roof at a height of six meters, with a surface of eighteen by eight meters, was built using a prefabricated timber structure with galvanized steel joints. The lateral and top surfaces are made of steel cladding with EPS filling. In the two large façades of the house, opening generously to the scenery, panels of glass fiber mosquito screens with PVC coating were installed, pivoting or sliding, with the intention of creating an external membrane, capable of keeping the insects out, without creating an obstacle for the ocean view and wind. The whole structure is elevated 75cm above ground level, supported by concrete pillars cast on site. All other components used in the construction are pre-fabricated and were simply mounted in place on the construction site. The adopted constructive system, besides reducing assembly time and errors, assured a dry construction site, with little generation of waste and low environmental impact. Cost We believe this is an economic model for creating architecture thanks to the rational use of materials. The predominant use of natural resources, such as natural ventilation and lighting, reduces considerably the necessity of technical equipment and, therefore, energy consumption and expenses during the construction period and operation of the house. The use of pre-fabricated systems and components produced industrially brings the benefits of lower cost and greater precision of mass production, as well as the reduction of construction time and waste of materials on the site. The house was fully paid by its owners and its final cost was: BR$ 264.000,00 or BR$ 1.200,00/m². Materials Foundation: reinforced concrete Structure: timber with galvanized steel joints Floors: wooden deck Roof and side façades: thermo-acoustic steel cladding with EPS filling Mosquito screen façades: glass fiber screen with PVC coating in steel frames Railings: steel frames with welded wire mesh Internal walls: OSB category 3 (PU) and dry-wall gypsum boards Ceiling: gypsum boards Waterproofing: adherent butilic mantle Water reservoir: low drums in stainless steel