Local studio Arkitito Arquitetura has created a trapezoidal, stucco-clad house on a triangular garden lot in São Paulo, Brazil.

Lechuza House – Spanish for "owl" – is located on a hilltop overlooking the Vila Madalena neighbourhood. The house is embedded into the steeply sloping lot in order "to explore the terrain's particularities to the fullest".

Arkitito Arquitetura completed the 235-square metre (2,690-square foot) house on a compact 300-square-metre (3,230-square foot) lot with terraced levels for a landscape architect and an engineer.

The clients moved from the countryside into the city, but wanted to recreate the serenity of their former residence and incorporate "elements of traditional Mexican architecture into the new residence as a way to evoke nostalgic memories".

"The house's volumetry presents itself as a solid structure, interrupted by the dynamism of the openings that strategically cleave the facades and surrounded by the pair of courtyards," the studio said.

On the street level, a garage door is set into a sand-coloured concrete wall that shields the residence from the street. The copper colour of the door reappears in the metal window frames and some elements in the garden.

Accessed through a small staircase on the side of the lot, the ground floor was elevated to the highest point of the lot, allowing "for harmonious integration with the garden and the creation of a lookout to appreciate the neighbourhood's landscape," the studio said.

"The garden, designed by the homeowner, plays a fundamental social role and evolves with use, featuring winding pathways and a private square outlined by black Portuguese stone pavement."

The spice and herb garden on the west side of the lot leads to a set of floor-to-ceiling glass doors, into the kitchen.

The kitchen island is placed in the centre of the room to face out into the garden, while the cabinets were set intentionally low to emphasize the vertical spaciousness of the room. The modularity of the millwork continues into the bookcases in the living room.

Behind the kitchen lies the laundry room and storage space, and across a wide corridor are the living room and a small secondary bedroom.

"The living room emerges as an integrated yet protected space, with walls that interrupt the line of the frames, creating a more reserved environment, ideal for movie sessions," the studio said.

"This solution also opens up space for a gallery specially organized to display the residents' personal collection, illuminated through the skylight that demarcates the perimeter of the staircase."

An ultra-thin, copper-coloured staircase wraps around the living space and ascends to the second level. The primary suite takes up the entire upper level with a light-filled bedroom and floral-patterned tile bathroom.

A side door leads out to a private garden terrace, shaded with a metal and rough wood pergola.

The interiors are characterised by earth tones, natural wood, and rust-coloured metal that reference the shades and tones in the garden.

Taking the entire width of the lot, the house divides the outside space into two courtyards connected by a large circulation enfilade, which doubles as an office space and brings light and ventilation deep into the home.

At the end of the main-level corridor, the rear yard contains a three-tiered vegetable garden.

Other homes recently completed in São Paulo include a cantilevered residence with a stair-slide by architect Marcelo Couto and a stacked beach house wrapped in a wooden screen by DB Arquitetos and Marina Salles.

The photography is by Ricardo Faiani.

Project credits:
Leader architects: Chantal Ficarelli, Tito Ficarelli
Architecture team: Claudia Piaia
Manufacturers: Gerdau, Tintas Sherwin Williams, Pastilhas Atlas, Deca, Divinal Vidros, Cerâmica Roca