This imaginary house was designed in 1951 by Lina Bo Bardi for herslef and her husband. This house consist of a concrete and glass volume and supported by slim pilotis. It is a meaningful example of Brazilian modernism – an architectural movement that both Taylor and Préaud have come to admire during their careers.
“Lina Bo Bari has been a huge inspiration for the most part of my career,” Taylor said.
“Discovering Nicholas had an equal passion and excitement towards Brazilian modernism was a perfect match, something we had to explore.”
“Having lived and studied architecture in Brazil, I was overwhelmed by the presence and national pride around modernist jewels such as Casa de Vidro or Casa das Canoas by Oscar Niemeyer,” continued Préaud.
“These homes have become landmarks not only for their style and modern construction methods at the time, but also because of the simplicity of the lifestyle they implemented.”
This house features a white concrete, just like Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro. But instead of pilotis, this house will be elevated by huge jagged boulders that protrude out from the terrain below.
This creation would also be much more sinuous in shape, with the river-facing elevation winding inwards to form a yard around a cluster of existing palm trees. This yard would help separating the private and communal quarters of the home.
“Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro was an inspiration mostly in terms of this ethereal feeling of a delicately suspended home… gentle curves, extended raw concrete slabs and a primal relationship with the elements are our tribute to Brazilian modernism,” the pair explained.
Some of big stones propping up the home would pierce the interior and adapted into a functional elements such as a bed headboard, or craggy plinths to display an earth-tone vases. In the living room, we can see a curving cream-colored sofa with a couple of sloping armchairs and floor lamp. And a wooden high-back chairs surround the stone breakfast island next to the kitchen. Wooden high-back chairs surround the stone breakfast island in the adjacent kitchen.
This house will be decorated with a blend of contemporary and antique decorative pieces. “It would definitely be a dream home for us in another life,” added Taylor and Préaud.
“Casa Atibaia is a design experiment in which we combined both our impressions and aspirations of the ideal modernist jungle home,” the pair continued. “Through this experiment we sought to squeeze out the essence of what Brazilian modernism means to us, blurring the boundaries between inside and out while maintaining a cozy, homey feeling.”
