Location: Campo Alegre, Brazil

Design Team: Nola Arquitetura

Area: 600 m²

Year: 2025

Photography: Eduardo Macarios

Design Features:Terra Catarina House is located in the mountain landscape of Campo Alegre, Brazil. Designed by Nola Arquitetura, the 600-square-metre residence sits among dense araucaria forest and opens toward a valley shaped by a Permanent Preservation Area. History, memory, nature and architecture are brought together as the house becomes a countryside refuge for family life.

The plan begins with a careful reading of the site. Placed on the higher part of the plot, the house gains broad views while retaining the protected atmosphere of the surrounding forest. To reduce the visual impact of the built volume and preserve privacy, the programme is divided into independent blocks distributed across the natural topography. The experience of the house therefore unfolds through pathways, gardens, changes of scale and gradual transitions rather than through a single compact object.

The main block contains the social areas and family bedrooms, while complementary volumes accommodate guests, service spaces and the garage. External paths and a glass-enclosed steel stair connect the different parts. More than a circulation element, the stair cuts through the garden and turns daily movement into a small immersion in the landscape, constantly shifting between interior space, semi-outdoor thresholds and valley views.

The material strategy strengthens the relationship between the house, vernacular memory and local resources. A mixed structure of concrete, metal and timber framing allows large openings and a contemporary spatial character, while natural materials create a warmer and quieter atmosphere. The wood used on ceilings, floors and wall panels, as well as the raw stone used in walls, the pool and fireplaces, was locally sourced, giving the project a direct material connection to its territory.

Designed for the mountain climate of Campo Alegre, the house treats cold weather as part of the living experience rather than a condition to hide. Stone fireplaces, a wood stove and a garden fire pit become gathering points throughout winter. Double-glazed windows, especially on the west-facing facade, provide thermal comfort while preserving the continuous relationship with the landscape. Inside, custom stainless-steel pieces coexist with a historic piano, century-old artworks and inherited family furniture, allowing tradition, technology and personal memory to share the same domestic setting.

Terra Catarina House establishes an atmosphere of permanence between matter, memory and nature. It does not merely frame the valley as scenery; instead, forest, climate, fire, stone, wood and family objects become part of daily life. The residence is therefore a place where time slows down, and a contemporary architectural gesture rooted in landscape and family memory.

Design Team:Nola Arquitetura is a Brazilian architecture practice whose published work spans residential, interior, cultural and public projects. For Terra Catarina House, the project information credits Bruna Beckert with coordination, Michele Ribas as part of the project team, and Thaís Faria as lead architect. The house was also developed with manufacturers and specialist suppliers including Docol, Lohn Esquadrias and Mekal.

The project suggests a practice method grounded less in a fixed formal language than in the reading of site, climate, natural resources and family memory. Through fragmented volumes, landscape paths, local materials and carefully staged domestic moments, Nola Arquitetura positions the house between contemporary living requirements and the atmosphere of its mountain setting.