architecture 4 us

The Sustainability of SN House by Studio Guilherme Torres

Posted: 14 Nov 2011 09:59 PM PST

A beautiful sustainable house was designed by Studio Guilherme Torres, fit to be used as a leisure place for a large family. This house is located in Londrina, Brazil, called The SN House. The unique side is the eco construction appears to be floating in the air.

The main part of this eco friendly construction is formed by a single-span volume that is cantilevered so it appears hovering in the air. The idea was taken according to the fact that there is an unevenness of nearly 3 meters of the ground. Below this main part building, there is a large, shaded outdoor spaces that can be used for leisure spaces. This will cover the living space, pool, and garden. The spaces are without any supported pillars and roofed by the main building above.

The main level of this sustainable house building was formed by prestressed concrete supported by cables of high-strength steel. The only support is the wall that is a border of the lower level. Generally, this house has four bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a large dining room, and multiple living rooms. This main level will covers almost all of daily activities, all accessed by the side ramp and garage on the upper hall.

Materials used for this sustainable building were taken from local area, such as white mansory, decorative stones, exposed concrete, etc. Supported by wood coatings finishing, they provide natural look.

This house is also completed by several sustainable features. Passive design was implemented for this house, so orientation and shading play important role in order to control the temperature inside the house. To protect the main level from overheating, there are louvers attached. This part is still allowing the daylight and provide natural ventilation too. For water source, rainwater is reused by the rainwater catchment system on the roof. To heat the water, solar panels are used.

By all of these features, this beautiful house becomes a modern and sustainable house.