Stone House / Esquadra Arquitetos

Architects: Esquadra Arquitetos
Area: 580 m²
Year: 2021
Photographs: Joana França
Manufacturers: Florense, Ikê Pedras, Light Design, Multipedras, Talentus Esquadrias, Tozetti, Kings
Lead Architect: Filipe Monte Serrat
Category: Houses
Project Team: Guido Saboya, Marcelo Gonçalves, Gabriela Medeiros
Construction: Tecna Construtora
Landscape Design: Quinta
Automation: MP Audio
City: Brasília
Country: Brazil

Stone House by Esquadra Arquitetos is a 580-square-meter residence in Brasília’s SMDB sector that explores the dialogue between built form and the surrounding cerrado landscape. Positioned at the end of a cul-de-sac adjoining a protected park, the house adopts a low, horizontal composition oriented to the site’s solar exposure and natural contours. Its structure of concrete, stone, and wood defines a spatial rhythm that transitions from private interiors to open garden-facing areas. A port-cochère extends the arrival sequence, functioning both as a vehicle shelter and a multifunctional covered space. Wooden louvers modulate privacy and daylight, while a single elevated volume, containing an office, punctuates the predominantly one-story plan. The design embraces material honesty and environmental sensitivity, integrating domestic life with the quiet landscape of Brasília’s residential periphery.

The Stone House reinterprets the interaction between domestic space and the cerrado biome that characterizes Brasília’s natural setting. Located at the edge of a cul-de-sac in the SMDB residential sector, the house benefits from its adjacency to a preserved park. This condition allows the project to establish a direct relationship with the surrounding vegetation while maintaining privacy within a low-traffic environment.

The design approach is guided by the site’s orientation and topography. Living spaces are aligned toward the park to capture natural light and open views, while service and circulation zones define the more sheltered areas of the plan. The arrival sequence unfolds through a port-cochère that mediates between street and interior. Beyond its functional role as a covered parking area, the structure doubles as a social and transitional space, reinforcing the architectural dialogue between enclosure and openness.

Planta 01 2 — Stone House / Esquadra Arquitetos 38

Material expression plays a decisive role in articulating the house’s compositional logic. Exposed concrete provides structural clarity and volumetric definition, while stone emphasizes thresholds between interior and exterior zones. Wood introduces warmth and tactility across ceilings, louvers, and decking, balancing the heavier mineral textures. The use of these materials in their natural states establishes both visual coherence and an environmental continuity with the landscape.

A single upper volume rests upon two inverted concrete beams, housing an office that overlooks the preserved parkland. This elevated element introduces vertical contrast within the otherwise horizontal composition and reinforces the sense of layered spatial hierarchy. Below, the open-plan living areas connect seamlessly with outdoor terraces and the garden beyond, dissolving boundaries between interior and exterior environments.

The system of wooden louvers defines the façade’s dynamic quality. These adjustable panels protect private areas such as bedrooms while allowing the leisure and living zones to open fully toward the garden. As sunlight shifts throughout the day, the louvers create patterns of shadow that animate the architecture and subtly register the passage of time.

Through its restrained geometry, calibrated material palette, and sensitivity to site conditions, the Stone House achieves a balanced integration between built form and landscape. Esquadra Arquitetos’ design reflects the quiet sophistication of Brasília’s domestic architecture, where structure, light, and vegetation converge to form a cohesive and enduring spatial experience.