Casa Superlimão

Casa Superlimão marks its presence at the Brazilian Architecture Biennial with a project that unites ancestral knowledge and new technologies Casa Superlimão is part of the programming for the first edition of the BAB (Brazilian Architecture Biennial), taking place from March 25th to April 30th, at Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo. Installed in the outdoor area of the marquee, between the Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures and the Afro Brazil Museum, the construction can be visited free of charge by the public. In this project, the investigation starts from the different ways of building in Brazil, articulating vernacular knowledge and contemporary technologies based on the relationship between architecture, territory, and climate, in direct dialogue with the questions proposed by the BAB. This articulation is expressed in the very conception of the project, which adopts a hexagonal design as a spatial structure that combines the rationality of the square shape with the structural efficiency of the circular shape, bringing the house closer to recurring patterns in nature. For Lula Gouveia, architect and partner at Superlimão, the project proposes looking at the future of construction based on knowledge accumulated over time. “Architecture has always responded to the climate, the territory, and the available conditions. Many solutions that we call traditional today emerged from this constructive intelligence. The project revisits this knowledge and places it in dialogue with current technologies.” Among the strategies adopted is the use of a raised floor, a solution present in different regions of Brazil, from the stilts of the north, adapted to areas subject to flooding, to the elevated houses of the south, used to protect against the cold. In addition to functioning as protection, the system creates a ventilation layer under the building, contributing to thermal comfort and reducing the impact on the ground by preserving soil permeability. In the project, this base is executed with reclaimed wood, incorporating a material that carries a previous history and gains a new cycle of use. The investigation into constructive systems extends to the structural elements. The pillars are produced with 3D concrete printing, a technique still little used in Brazil and explored in the project as part of an emerging field of digital fabrication, and they start from a biomimetic logic inspired by the cross-section of the stem of banana leaves. In this natural structure, cavities and fibers are organized in a way that balances lightness and resistance, a principle that guides the design of the pillars. Based on this logic, the elements adopt an alveolar configuration, which allows for a reduction in the volume of material without compromising structural performance, resulting in lighter, more resistant, and more efficient pieces in the use of resources. Digital fabrication enables this system by allowing the precise positioning of the material, applied only where it is necessary, incorporating a technology that is still in the process of diffusion and that expands the field of constructive possibilities. In this sense, the project begins to test and incorporate emerging technologies as exercises, articulating historical references and investigation into the future of construction. In addition to decreasing cement consumption and, consequently, the environmental impact, the internal cavities also make it possible to integrate infrastructure and hydraulic systems inside the structural elements themselves. “Biomimicry guides the project by looking at nature as a reference for efficiency in the use of resources. By incorporating these principles, architecture starts to work with less matter, less waste, and higher performance, aligning construction and sustainability in an integrated way,” says the architect. On the roof, the house adopts a reciprocal structure in engineered wood, in which each piece supports and is supported by the others, forming an interdependent system that better distributes structural efforts. Inspired by patterns found in the organization of leaves and flowers, this configuration results in a light and resistant structure. “It is a system in which all parts work together. There is a collective logic in the structure, very close to what we see in nature.” Regarding the lateral enclosures, the project returns to a recurring element of Brazilian architecture, the cobogó, which allows the passage of air and light and favors permanent cross-ventilation. The walls are composed of recycled PET wool panels, which combine the reuse of waste with thermal and acoustic performance, while, in opaque areas, they receive a finish with earth paint, allowing the surfaces to function as breathable walls and contribute to the regulation of internal humidity. These strategies configure an efficient environment, in which cross-ventilation is complemented by a central skylight, responsible for increasing the entry of natural light and favoring the exit of hot air. At the same time, the project expands the relationship between interior and exterior by enhancing the view of the park framed by the windows and the cobogós, incorporating it directly into the spatial experience. Despite the contemporary language, the project dialogues with recognizable references of Brazilian architecture, evoking structures such as indigenous ocas, gazebos from inland towns, and open and permeable vernacular constructions. “The idea was to bring something that any Brazilian could identify with, regardless of the region in which they live,” says Lula. By bringing together traditional techniques, natural systems, and digital technologies, Casa Superlimão synthesizes the reflection proposed by the Biennial and points to a Brazilian architecture that recognizes in the territory, the climate, and vernacular knowledge not a past to be overcome, but an active repertoire, capable of updating itself and gaining new forms from the technologies and tools of the present, including approaches such as biomimicry, which bring construction closer to more efficient logics integrated with nature, while simultaneously expanding the field of investigation into the future of architecture.