A House That Emerges From Nature | Casa Itupeva by UNA MUNIZVIEGAS, Featuring an Architect Interview

Casa Itupeva by UNA MUNIZVIEGAS | Architecture Film | Brazil

Located in the lush countryside of Itupeva, São Paulo, Brazil, Casa Itupeva is a 640 m² contemporary residence designed by UNA MUNIZVIEGAS and completed in 2024. Conceived as an architecture that emerges from the landscape, the project establishes a refined dialogue between wood, concrete, water, and dense native vegetation.

Set on a steep, forested site marked by large natural boulders and expansive views, the house is carefully embedded into its surroundings. Rather than imposing itself on the terrain, Casa Itupeva becomes part of it, a composition that balances lightness and solidity, transparency and permanence.

The program is organized into two complementary volumes. The upper pavilion, built with glued laminated timber, hosts the main living spaces and opens toward panoramic views, while the lower concrete base, partially carved into the topography, accommodates bedrooms, service areas, and family spaces. A swimming pool sculpted into the concrete platform reflects the surrounding forest, reinforcing the connection between architecture and nature.

Environmental strategies play a key role in the design. The expansive double-layered wooden roof creates shaded verandas and terraces while improving thermal performance, reducing interior temperatures by up to 8°C and enabling efficient rainwater collection.

Landscape design by Gabriella Ornaghi and Bianca Vasoni enhances the project’s integration with the site, repositioning original stones and incorporating them into the architectural composition.

This film by Architecture Hunter is conceived as a poetic and cinematic journey through Casa Itupeva. Through delicate camera movements, natural light, and immersive drone shots, the film reveals how the house dissolves into its landscape.

Alongside this visual experience, the film also features an intimate and thoughtfully crafted interview with the architects of UNA MUNIZVIEGAS, offering deeper insight into the design process, material choices, and conceptual approach behind the project, presented in a way that feels as inviting, fluid, and poetic as the architecture itself.

More than a house tour, this is an exploration of how architecture can inhabit a place with sensitivity and precision.

Project: Casa Itupeva
Architecture: UNA MUNIZVIEGAS
Film by: Architecture Hunter
Location: Itupeva, Brazil
Photography: Pedro Kok