Passive Cantilevered SN House Appears to Be Floating In the Air

The SN House in Londrina, Brazil was built to appear as if it were floating in mid-air. The main part of the house is a single-span volume that hovers over a large, shaded outdoor living area that is perfect for large family gatherings by the pool. Designed by <a href="http://www.guilhermetorres.com/housing#/14" target="_blank">Studio Guilherme Torres</a>, the luxurious and passive home makes the most of its site by using the sun to heat water, louvers to shade the interior and collected rainwater for toilets and irrigation.

The lot on which this house is built is uneven by about 3 meters in the back, so the architect had the idea to create a large span jutting out from the back slope.

In this way, the cantilever could create a large shaded space underneath.

“I’ve docked the house on the slope” <a href="http://www.contemporist.com/2011/11/10/sn-house-by-studio-guilherme-torres/" target="_blank">says</a> the Guilherme Torres, “By doing that, I’ve released the space underneath it to the garden, the pool and the living rooms”.

A large slab of prestressed concrete containing cables of high strength steel driven and trapped inside the slab itself is what allows this to work. Without any pillars or supports, the main volume has straight, pure and simple forms.

In total, the residence is 840 sq meters with four bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a large dining room, and multiple living rooms both inside and out.

Built around a large courtyard and swimming pools, the house also makes use of a lot of outdoor living space eliminating the need for more conditioned space.

Multiple living spaces, especially the outdoor ones allows the extended family to visit on the weekend and enjoy the pool.

Local labor and materials were used exclusively for this project, which is made from decorative stone, exposed concrete and white masonry.

Orientated for passive solar design, the home maximizes shading and natural ventilation to keep things cool, but provide natural daylighting.