This abandoned house comes back to life after a spectacular renovation

leomaxwell1999

The Tree House (Casa da Árvore, in Portuguese) is a weekend home located in the mountainous region of Atibaia, about 80 km north of São Paulo. Inside it stands out for the use of typical solutions from the interior of Brazil accompanied by paintings made by the owner two decades ago. This decorative harmony was what allowed it to receive the Honorable Mention of the prestigious DNA Paris 2021 , in the Interior Design-Renovation section. Additionally, in 2020 it was nominated for Building of the Year in ArchDaily. The Casa da Árvore project was developed by the Candida Tabet Arquitetura studio from a small abandoned house , built in the 80s, and its attached shed. During those years of abandonment, its walls served as a blank canvas for the owner's young daughter, then a future student at the School of Plastic Arts.


That young woman today is the current owner of it, and has been the promoter to renovate the house as a weekend home for herself, her husband and her two daughters. During the rehabilitation, the owner demanded that any intervention must maintain all the paintings preserved on the walls , most of which Phone Lead date back to the year 2000. Likewise, to give the space the desired 'wabi-sabi' atmosphere, the design focused on the concepts of time and nostalgia as a foundation for the creative process. With this, the tree house presents an allusion to simplicity and "anti-luxury" in the aesthetic orientation of the project. In this line, the volumetric work complemented by the openings and openings  magically frame the natural light from the outside that merges with the interior vegetation of the home and the murals, resulting in a continuous stage.



The choice of materials rescued the simple languages ​​and caboclos of the interior of Brazil, seeking to implement typical solutions of the region due to their great thermal performance . Examples include adobe walls or colonial ceramic tiles. The stones for the walls were collected from the ground around the house. As can be seen, contemporary trends, methods and fashions were not taken into account; Instead, unconventional elements and solutions were proposed as the works progressed. In this way, the house developed and matured together with the owner , with the creation of a new space built to play, contemplate and excite, bringing joy and provoking continuous discovery due to the architectural solutions and the chosen finishes. After the renovation, completed in 2019, Casa da Árvore has a total of 300 m2 distributed among five suites.