MRD Residence / Jacobsen Arquitetura

Architects: Jacobsen Studio
Area: 1,085 m²
Site Area: 3,552 m²
Year: 2022
Photography: Fran Parente
Architects Team: Paulo Jacobsen, Bernardo Jacobsen, Edgar Murata, Marcelo Vessoni, Fernanda Maeda, Victor Gonçalves, Marina Budib, Thauan, Alan Cruciti, Thays Colli, Chayene Cardoso, Fernanda Marchesan, Francine Azevedo
Design Team: Paulo Jacobsen, Bernardo Jacobsen, Edgar Murata, Marcelo Vessoni, Marcela Guerreiro, Magu Marinelli, Ananda Nunes, Tayná Oliveira, Vicky Nasser, Henrique Bregantin, Manuela Porto
Structural Engineering: Ita e Leão
Interior Design: Jacobsen Studio
Landscape Design: Rodrigo Oliveira
Lighting Design: Lightworks
City: Bragança Paulista, São Paulo
Country: Brazil

MRD Residence by Jacobsen Studio is organized as a layered response to a steep, forested site in Bragança Paulista, in the interior of São Paulo state. The 1,085 m² house distributes its principal functions across two perpendicular upper-level volumes connected by glazed circulation, with social areas occupying one wing and family spaces and bedroom suites arranged in the other. A lower concrete level accommodates service functions and a spa while taking advantage of the site’s changing elevations. The architectural system combines concrete, steel, glued laminated timber, glass, brise-soleils, and low-maintenance exterior cladding to balance structural clarity with environmental control. Deep overhangs, operable screens, and protected openings moderate sunlight, ventilation, and privacy, while the interiors extend the architectural concept through carefully selected furniture and artworks. Throughout the residence, the relationship between built form and tropical vegetation is reinforced through framed views, exterior terraces, shaded edges, and transitions that connect interior spaces with the surrounding landscape.

The starting point for the MRD House was the site’s topography and its privileged setting beside a dense tropical forest. We wanted the architecture to unfold as a sequence of discoveries, allowing the landscape to be experienced gradually. The arrival was carefully choreographed through a long walkway that frames views and leads visitors to the highest point of the site, where the house slowly reveals itself. From there, every major space was positioned to establish a direct relationship with the surrounding vegetation, transforming circulation, viewpoints, and the changing perspectives of the forest into fundamental elements of the architectural experience.
Interview with Paulo Jacobsen, Bernardo Jacobsen, and Edgar Murata of Jacobsen Studio

MRD Residence establishes its architectural character through a carefully choreographed arrival sequence that delays a full view of the house. From the street, visitors follow a long pedestrian path that extends along the façade and through the landscape before reaching the porte cochère beneath a pronounced upper-level cantilever. Positioned near the highest point of the property, the residence employs this gradual approach to moderate its substantial scale and to integrate movement through the site into the architectural experience. Rather than leveling the sloping terrain, Jacobsen Studio works with its variations to define circulation, spatial hierarchy, and elevation changes. The two-level organization follows the natural descent of the site, allowing portions of the building to remain embedded within the ground while others project toward the surrounding tropical forest.

A U-shaped staircase connects the arrival level with the principal residential floor. At this level, two orthogonal wings structure the plan and are joined by a glazed circulation zone. The transparent connector establishes separation between the main programmatic areas while maintaining visual continuity across the house.

The social wing accommodates the dining room and kitchen before transitioning into a living room set slightly below the adjacent floor level. This modest sectional shift increases the ceiling height and gives the living area a more expansive spatial character. Large glazed panels connect the interior with the gourmet veranda, allowing the spaces to operate together while opening toward the landscape. A glued laminated timber structure extends across the principal social areas and sits visually apart from the roof plane. The repeated timber members establish continuity between the living, dining, and covered exterior spaces while introducing a warmer material register alongside concrete, steel, and glass.

Solar control is integrated into the envelope through adjustable and fixed architectural elements. On the gourmet veranda, a movable gray composite wood panel can be repositioned according to sunlight conditions. The same low-maintenance material appears on the exterior facades, where its dark finish recalls charred timber and reduces the visual contrast between the house and the surrounding vegetation. Broad roof projections create shaded transitional zones around the glazed social spaces. Along the edge of the cantilever, an integrated bench also functions as a guardrail, combining seating and safety within a single element while preserving the clarity of the projecting volume.

The private wing is positioned on the opposite side of the staircase and contains the family room and bedroom suites. A longitudinal corridor provides access to the rooms and is protected from the street by strategically positioned brise-soleils. These elements filter daylight, support natural air movement, and provide greater privacy along the approach side of the residence. The suites are oriented toward the swimming pool and wooded surroundings. Timber panels provide an additional layer of enclosure and shade while maintaining the bedrooms’ visual relationship with the exterior.

The site’s slope also informs the placement of more specialized spaces. A route following the terrain around the private wing leads to a studio designed specifically for the client beneath the cantilever of the primary suite. Its position uses the depth created by the projecting upper floor and transforms a sheltered zone into an occupied part of the program. Service areas and the spa are positioned on the lower level and partially concealed within the terrain. This portion of the residence is constructed in concrete, establishing a heavier base that contrasts with the mixed structural system of the level above. Within the social volume, slender steel columns are placed toward the outer edges of the roof overhangs rather than directly against the glazed facade. This approach separates the structural supports from the enclosure, allowing greater flexibility in the arrangement of openings and extending the shaded perimeter around the living spaces.

Jacobsen Studio also developed the interior design, integrating furniture and artworks into the architectural composition. Pieces by Adolfo Estrada, Artur Lescher, Etel Carmona, and Sergio Rodrigues appear alongside original designs by the studio, contributing to an interior atmosphere shaped by material restraint and carefully selected objects.

MRD Residence ultimately uses structure, topography, landscape, and environmental control as interconnected parts of a single architectural strategy. The concrete lower level anchors the building into the slope, while the lighter upper volumes open toward views, terraces, and vegetation. Through sectional shifts, shaded thresholds, transparent circulation, and framed openings, the house establishes a controlled yet continuous relationship with its tropical setting.