Sahy Residence by Andrade Morettin

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_project: Sahy Residence
_architecture: Andrade Morettin Arquitetos
_interiors: Studio Mellone
_location: São Sebastião, Brazil

In recent debates around architecture and territory, minimal intervention has evolved from a visual attitude into a strategic design position. Building lightly now requires reading the landscape as an active system shaped by topography, vegetation, climate, and time. Rather than imposing a singular object, many contemporary projects operate through dispersion, reuse, and adaptation, allowing existing conditions to guide spatial and constructive decisions.

This approach defines a residential project on the northern coast of São Paulo, set within the dense vegetation of the Atlantic Forest. Instead of concentrating the program into one volume, the house unfolds as a group of buildings scattered across a sloped site. Each structure occupies an existing clearing in the forest, many formed by constructions from the 1980s. These clearings are understood not as vacant land, but as spatial traces already embedded in the terrain.

The intervention balances renovation and addition. Existing buildings are selectively preserved, reinforced, and reprogrammed, while new volumes are introduced with precision. At the core of the main residence, a modular timber structure reorganizes the layout and brings coherence to previously disconnected elements. This central volume concentrates the social spaces while maintaining continuity with the surrounding landscape.

Environmental performance is integral to the architectural strategy. Buildings are elevated above the ground, reducing contact with the soil and allowing air to circulate beneath them. Large overhangs and generous verandas create shaded areas and function as thermal buffers between interior spaces and the humid tropical climate. Natural ventilation becomes a primary tool for comfort, reducing dependence on mechanical systems.

Construction systems reinforce this low impact logic. Laminated timber structures, prefabricated panels, and dry assembly methods allow precise construction while minimizing disturbance to the site. Despite the dispersed layout, a consistent architectural language unifies the ensemble.

Circulation between buildings is designed as an open-air experience. Paths, patios, and verandas turn movement into a gradual immersion in the landscape, where daily life unfolds between shelter and nature.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_film by Architecture Hunter
_photos by André Scarpa

_drawings by Andadre Morettin:

1. ground floor

2. section

3. basement floor plan