Project: White Bricks House
Architects: BLOCO Arquitetos
Location: Brazil
Area: 6, 458 sf
Year: 2023
Photographs by: Joana França
White Bricks House by BLOCO Arquitetos
Crafted with meticulous artistry by skilled masons, the White Bricks House stands as a testament to precision and refined construction in the heart of Brasília. In a city known for its architectural masterpieces, this residence honors the intricate craftsmanship seen in iconic public buildings. Nestled within the Lago Sul region, the house’s layout gracefully envelopes a central green expanse, a sanctuary for the main rooms that open onto it. A striking outer layer of white-painted solid bricks cloaks the facades, a dance of variable spacing between them shaping the degree of visibility and privacy. This “second facade” is an homage to Brasília’s architectural heritage, reimagining the “cobogó” breezeblock’s role in natural ventilation and lighting while adding its own artistic layer to the capital’s design narrative.
The White Bricks House was built in an extremely artisanal way by masons-craftsmen, in a slow and precise process. Although it is a constructive process that is not very widespread in Brasília nowadays, the use of exposed solid bricks has a constructive complexity that requires precision and constructive refinement, elements that are very present in the most representative public buildings of Brasilia.
Built on a residential complex in the Lago Sul region of Brasília, the White Bricks House´s program was distributed around the perimeter of the plot so that all the main rooms of the house could face the central area, with a large green area and a semi-Olympic lap pool. Therefore, the bedrooms, living rooms, verandas, kitchen, and even the garage were directed towards the large garden environment that functions as a central patio.
The facades are covered by an outer layer of solid bricks painted white. Its different degrees of openness are formed by the variable spacing between the bricks. The level of visibility through the bricks reflects the different levels of privacy that are desired for each room. The “hollow” spaces between the bricks also allow for natural cross-ventilation. Therefore, the bricks form a “second facade” that has the function of controlling direct sunlight, natural ventilation, and the desired privacy. The bricks have elongated sizes that we designed specifically for the house.
The spaced bricks reinterpret one of the most relevant architectural elements in Brasilia, the “cobogó” (breezeblock), which is so important for ventilation and natural lighting in Brazilian architecture.
