Unveiled in 2023 by TETRO Architecture, The Café House gracefully resides in the lush Cerrado region, embedded in the rich, heartland tapestry of Minas Gerais. This region, celebrated for its quintessential landscape of rusty-red earth and uniquely twisted tree trunks, extends a warm invitation for leisurely, coffee-infused dialogue—a cherished ritual deeply rooted in the culture of Minas Gerais.
The Café House Technical Information
- Architects: TETRO Architecture
- Location: Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Topics: Brazilian Houses
- Area: 257 m2
- Completion Year: 2023
- Photographs: © Luisa Lage
Thinking about an architecture that interprets the context in which it is inserted, making a sensitive reading about the place, the culture and the people who will inhabit the space can be one of the best ways to find the answers for the creation of design concepts.
– TETRO Architecture
The Café House Photographs
Aromatic Architecture: The Café House’s Homage to Coffee and Culture
In its conception, the project contemplated an architecture that respects and reflects the surrounding context, achieving a symbiotic relationship with the environment, local culture, and future inhabitants. The design approach acknowledges coffee’s importance in daily life, sparking the question: How might a project encapsulate, subjectively, the characteristics of coffee within its architectural concepts?
To answer this, the design draws upon the nuances of the beverage itself. The quality of coffee relies heavily on the land and climate where it grows, aligning it closely with elements of earth and air. The aromatic essence of coffee is a sensory testament to this relationship. Thus, the design echoes these facets through the careful juxtaposition of weight and lightness. Thick, pigmented concrete side walls, symbolizing earth, stand in contrast with thin, white, and curved slabs that seem to float above the structure, representing air. These slabs, like weightless sheets of paper resting on the walls, appear to emanate organically from the ground.
The functional layout of the house was divided into two principal areas under the curved slabs, designating spaces for social and intimate interactions. A corridor flanked by earthen walls serves as a transition pathway between the distinct ambiances.
Connecting with its inhabitants, the house is a direct response to the site’s character. The earthen walls direct the view outward, preserving the untouched terrain and the original topography. The existing trees were carefully conserved, now forming intriguing dialogues with the built volumes. These structures were sensitively situated within the land’s original dimensions, around which a terraced garden unfolds.
In essence, this project aims to understand the capacity of architecture to evoke connections between inhabitants and their dwellings, creating emblematic representations of the local culture and the personalities that will breathe life into the space. Through poetic architectural language, a symphony of cultural nuances, natural elements, and human habitation are woven together.
The Café House Plans
The Café House Image Gallery
About TETRO Architecture
TETRO Architecture, stationed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is a distinguished architectural firm led by architects Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, and Igor Macedo. The firm bases its practice on meticulously examining each project’s unique premises and conditions, including the site and client’s needs, aiming for bespoke solutions that are both unique and unrepeatable. Fundamental attributes of their work encompass a harmonious integration with nature, the utilization of natural materials, and the exploration of architectural voids. These characteristics manifest in all their projects, spanning from the urban scale down to individual furniture design.
Notes & Additional Credits
- Principal Architects: Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes and Igor Macedo
- Collaborators: Bianca de Castro Carvalho, Bruno Bontempo, Déborah Martins, Diana Oliveira, Giovanna De Giacomo, Gregório Fiorotti, Luisa Lage
- Structural Concrete Design: MV Estruturas
- Design of electrical installations and hydraulic installations: Somar Engenharia
- Construction: Somar Engenharia
- Landscaping project: Nativa Paisagismo
