This summer house is situated only a few meters from the sea, on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, a place with exuberant vegetation and hot humid climate.

Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados began the project with the idea of a big shelter, a "shell," under which the actual living spaces would be located, protected from the intense sun and the frequent rains, however without blocking the permanent natural cross ventilation.

This roof at a height of six meters, with a surface of eighteen by eight meteres, was built using a pre-fabricated timber structure with galvanized steel joints. The lateral and top faces are made of steel cladding with EPS filling.

On the two large facades of the house, opening generously to the scenery, panels of glass fiber masquito screens with PVC coating were installed, pivoting or sliding, with the intention of creating an external membrane, capable of keeping the insects out, without creating an obstacle for the ocean view and wind.

The whole structure is elevated 75cm above ground level, suppported by concrete pillars cast on the site. All other components used in the constructed are prefabricated and were simply mounted in place on the construction site.

The adopted construction system, besides reducing assembly time and errors, assured a dry construction site, with little generation of waste and low environmental impact.

Andrade Morettin won Living Steel's 2nd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing with a lightweight steel design for Brazil. Read about their work here on the Living Steel website.

Key information

Number of storeys	1
New-build home
Total Floor Area	220m²

Location of steel solutions

Structure
Roof
Facades
Railings
Water Systems