At first, you barely notice it. The house doesn’t try to stand out, it follows the land, stretches along the slope, and opens completely toward the water.
The Represa House is designed around a single idea: let the landscape lead.
A large wooden roof connects everything, creating shade, structure, and flow.
Spaces are divided clearly, but always connected. Inside and outside work together. Nothing competes with the view. A house that doesn’t dominate its surroundings… It blends into them.
Architecture: Bernardes Arquitetura Interiors: Bernardes Arquitetura Team: Thiago Bernardes, Márcia Santoro, Camila Tariki, Giovanna Queiroz, Juliana Yoshida, Pérola Machado, Luísa Mader, Natália Valente, Anna Carolina Lancsarics, Giovanna Custódio, Paula Rimi Landscape architecture: Cenário Paisagismo Lighting: Lightworks Photos: Fernando Guerra Project date: 2024 Area: 1030 m²
This house doesn't try to stand out. It almost disappears.
And even so, it's impossible not to notice.
This is the Represa house, designed by Bernardes Architectura,
on the edge of a reservoir in Brazil.
The site is long, sloped, and fully open to the water.
Instead of imposing a form, the house follows it.
It stretches out, follows the topography, and opens completely to the landscape.
From the moment you arrive, this is already clear.
A large wooden roof organizes everything.
It's not just aesthetic. It guides the path.
It leads you through the space, an architectural promenade.
The house is not a single volume. It is divided into two main blocks.
On one side, the social areas. On the other, the bedrooms.
And between them, a central circulation axis connects everything.
This separation makes the layout very clear.
Social on one side. Private on the other.
No conflict. No unnecessary overlap.
The house is not closed. But it's not fully exposed, either.
It controls.
On the facades, pivoting wooden panels act as brise soleil.
They rotate, adjust, and allow control of light, ventilation, and privacy.
In other words, the house changes throughout the day,
depending on the position of these panels.
But the most important element is not the division.
It's the roof. It brings everything together.
A slightly curved wooden structure that starts at the highest point of the site
and follows the slope down to the edge of the pool.
This roof creates shade, protects from the sun, and at the same time keeps everything open.
The relationship to the exterior is direct.
The social area works almost like a veranda,
fully connected to the garden, to the pool, and to the reservoir right in front.
The structure combines concrete, steel, and wood.
This allows large spans, fewer columns, and more open spaces.
Wood is everywhere.
Structure, finishes, roof, creating continuity between inside and outside,
and reinforcing the sense of unity.
The palette is neutral, subtle.
Nothing draws more attention than the landscape.
And that is intentional.
The house doesn't want to compete.
It wants to disappear.
The design also responds to the climate.
Large openings for cross-ventilation, carefully controlled shading,
protection from the afternoon sun.
Everything designed for comfort without relying only on mechanical systems.
The house doesn't force the land.
It follows it, respects the slope, and reduces earth movement.
The Represa house doesn't try to be the protagonist.
It creates the conditions for the landscape to be.
A house that organizes, connects, and disappears into the place.
And shows that sometimes, the best architecture is the one that almost doesn't appear.
