Project: RK House
Architects: AP Arquitetos
Location: Curitiba, Brazil
Area: 3,229 sq ft
Photographs by: Estudiograma
RK House by AP Arquitetos
AP Arquitetos, a Brazilian architecture studio, have designed the RK House in the capital of Brazil’s Parana state, the city of Curitiba. It is the largest city in this state and it is quite tightly packed. This called for a different approach in design in order to make the most out of the available space.
The RK House is a contemporary home that spans across 3,200 square feet, where the living room and kitchen are designed with an open floor plan. The interior gets plenty of sunlight thanks to the large glass panels on the northern side of the home, creating a scene of continuous lighting all around the home.
The 300 m² residence is oriented in the north/south format, being rooms, living room and kitchens (areas of continuous use) facing north. In this facade, large glass panels and balconies guarantee ideal and continuous lighting. Hall, garage, services, and office (limited use areas) facing the south. In these spaces, few openings guarantee the minimum loss of heat.
The volumetry of the project is based on six major structural plans in the north/south direction. Among the plans, aluminum frames create an appearance of lightness and effects of shadow, light, and wind. In the east/west direction, we introduce a plane in wood to differentiate it from the other structural lines.
The six plans create three large volumes and the main access is at the highest volume, from the left of the person entering the house, creating a hierarchy between the volumes that define the entrance. The office, in this southern view, advances four meters in a cantilevered structure. In the north view, terrain backside, the plans, and volumes do not have hierarchy between them.
In the office, seen south, the elements that differentiate are the concrete cobogos. These were inserted to guarantee a visual protection to the office besides being traditional elements of Brazilian modernist architecture. A small tear ensures the external visuals.
The garage and music studio were leased underground. So the ground floor can be left open as a large lounge connecting living, dining, kitchen, and barbecue. In front of the dining room was positioned the pool, external and partially covered.
–AP Arquitetos
