Architecture firm TETRO has completed Casa Tangram, a striking 1,450-square-meter residence in Lagoa Santa, Brazil, that appears to vanish into the landscape through clever use of topography and design. The architects positioned the home at the highest point of its expansive 5,000-square-meter lakeside property, creating a visual effect where the building reads as merely a thin horizontal line when viewed from the street.
Designed by architects Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, and Igor Macedo, the project employs strategic topography, massing, and material selection to create a remarkable sense of architectural disappearance. The design incorporates retaining walls, stone embankments, and carefully positioned building volumes that form a visual barrier, effectively shielding the interior from urban views. Once inside, residents experience a complete retreat from city life as the house redirects focus entirely toward the surrounding natural elements of trees, grass, and water.
The residence takes its name from its distinctive triangular organizational form, which the architects extended into an impressive glued-laminated timber roof structure. This roof consists of a sophisticated sequence of folded triangular planes that serve as the project's primary spatial element. The timber canopy functions as a protective shield facing the street while compressing the facade into an understated profile, yet opens completely toward the lake to maximize water views and natural light.
Strategically placed zenithal openings cut through the geometric timber structure, allowing controlled daylight to filter into the living spaces and upper-floor circulation areas. The building employs a hybrid structural system that combines the warmth of timber roofs and porches with the strength of exposed concrete slabs and walls. Stone retaining walls that anchor the house to the natural slope serve dual purposes as both structural support and landscape transition elements, reinforcing the impression that the home has been partially carved directly from the terrain.
Casa Tangram's structural design works harmoniously with the gentle contours of its natural setting, functioning as a transitional passage that remains protected on the street side while opening completely toward the water. By extending its roofline along the horizon and unfolding triangular planes toward the lake, TETRO has created a home that fundamentally reimagines domestic space around the interplay of natural light, topography, and an uninterrupted connection with nature.
The lower level concentrates all social activities of the home, including the main living room, kitchen, gourmet cooking area, wine cellar, and swimming pool, all of which face the lake through floor-to-ceiling glass walls and flowing outdoor terraces. A portion of this program is cleverly integrated into the retaining wall structure, where auxiliary spaces like the secondary kitchen, bathroom, and wine storage are embedded, transforming the boundary between architecture and earth into a substantial, livable zone. The swimming pool's water level is designed to visually merge with the lake surface, effectively blurring the distinction between constructed edges and the broader natural environment.
The upper level houses the private family areas, including a family room and five bedrooms comprising the master suite, two children's rooms, and two guest rooms. Every space on this level opens toward the spectacular lake view, sheltered by the roof's generous overhanging eaves and insulated from street noise by the elevation and distance from ground level. This arrangement ensures privacy while maintaining the home's fundamental connection to its stunning natural surroundings.
