Bloco Arquitetos creates "house without windows" in Brazil
Local studio Bloco Arquitetos has completed a house in Brasília surrounded by brick screens and wide entry portals that open up the central courtyard to the exterior.
Known as Casa Tupin, the 420-square-metre (4,520-square-foot) residence is rectangular with a large central courtyard.
The 2025 house, set in a gated community 20 kilometres from Brasília, was designed to integrate the interior and exterior with the courtyard, which functions as both the leisure space and the connective core of the home.
"A house without windows, that is a window itself – rather than opening punctual views, the project seeks to transform the entire architectural body into a mediator between interior life and the surrounding landscape," Bloco Arquitetos told Dezeen.
"This approach results in a building that engages the environment through performance rather than transparency," the studio said.
Instead of large expanses of glazing, the vertical planes between the raised concrete slab and deep roof structure are coral-coloured brick – arranged as solid walls or breeze clock-like screen – wrapping the house in texture and filtered light.
Selected for durability and composition consistency, the brick and concrete protect the interior from excessive heat. The restrained palette allows light, shadow and time to become part of the architecture, the studio explained.
"This porous facade acts simultaneously as solar protection and as a permanent ventilation filter, allowing air to flow in all directions throughout the house," the studio said.
"All spaces are organized in relation to this system, which integrates structure, climate control and spatial experience into a single architectural strategy."
The circulation, living spaces and private areas are arranged to maximise cross ventilation and the idea of the house as a continuous architectural experience that follows the structural logic of the design.
Supported on 12 pillars, three-quarters of the plan is elevated above the ground to pull natural ventilation beneath the house, preserve the existing topography and allow the native plants of the Brazilian savana – or Cerrado – to grow beneath the residence.
"This elevation also allows the native small animals from Cerrado – mostly lizards and burrowing owls – to move freely between the outside garden and the inner courtyard," the studio said, noting that the layout also allowed for the preservation of an existing tree at the centre of the courtyard.
Suspending the house and detaching it from the ground helped the designers connect the spatial concept with the environmental goals.
"This structural clarity allowed the building to appear both stable and light, reinforcing the idea of elevation as an architectural and environmental strategy," the studio said.
"Another key achievement was reversing the perception of transparency – although the house appears closed and opaque from the outside, the interior is open, fluid and visually expansive."
Other recent residential projects that use screens for ventilation include the renovation of a Puerto Rican home by Paul Raff and a woven timber home in Goa, India, by Field Atelier.
The photography is by Joana França.
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