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Vista House is a full renovation of an existing family home in Brasília by Studio Gontijo Arquitetura. The original building was split into many small rooms that no longer suited the family moving in. The architects rebuilt it in a contemporary language and, more than anything, set out to tie the house more closely to its landscape.
The family chose the property mainly for where it sits and for its view over Lake Paranoá, and that view ended up steering every design decision. The work included a complete reorganisation of the existing rooms and a new floor on top, which pushes the house further toward the horizon. The result covers 1000 m².
Opening up, keeping the sun out
The shared rooms open wide to the garden and the distant water, forming large, continuous spaces filled with daylight. Brasília’s sun is harsh, though, so architecture, interiors and planting were designed together to deal with it. Big sheets of glass sit alongside louvres, gardens and reflecting pools, and planting runs right through the rooms, so the move from inside to outside is gradual. Readers interested in this approach can find more in our article on designing homes around natural views.
Water along the whole side
Landscape is at the centre of the project. Green courtyards, carefully placed openings and water help air move through the house and keep it cool. A reflecting pool runs the full length of one side, dropping in steps as the ground falls away. Beyond softening the local climate, the moving water adds sound to the walk through the house.
The way in follows this same edge and, unusually, starts at the highest point of the plot. Paths that appear to float over the water lead through a dark setting of black surfaces and a black lined pool. That darker passage compresses the visitor before the interiors open up, bright and warm with wood and floors of Roman travertine. At the lowest end of the site the water finishes at a lounge with a fireplace that hangs above the pool.
The same path also gives access to a home theatre combined with a games room, and to a gym wrapped in glass that looks straight onto the garden and the pool at the back of the plot.
Rooms for each member of the family
The private rooms were shaped around the people who use them. Each child’s bedroom has a character of its own. Upstairs, the parents have a self contained loft with their own living room, a pantry, separate walk in wardrobes and bathrooms arranged so that each can be used independently.
In the shared part of the house, the living room leads directly to the wine cellar and to an entertaining kitchen beside the pool. A door concealed in the wood panelling that lines the walls opens onto the everyday kitchen, which is kept out of sight from the street of the gated community. To give that kitchen daylight and air without losing privacy, the architects added an internal garden lit by a large motorised skylight.
Dark outside, warm inside
The choice of materials plays on contrast. From outside, the house reads as a dark mass set against the deep green of the garden. Inside, stone and wood add texture and warmth. Because the same materials repeat on the facade, in the rooms and in the outdoor areas, the house holds together as one continuous space. For another Brazilian home built around light and planting, see BF2 House by Peninsula Arquitetura.
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