Sense, Sensibility and Mastery
Revista AU - Arquitetura & Urbanismo - nº 175 - Outubro 2008

João Filgueiras Lima, aka Lelé, is known by his technical and artistic zeal in creating his works. The residence, recently designed for a friend, shows in its shape the intention to maximally emphasize the natural landscape near Brasília. The curved glass facade reveals the vast horizon of hills and valleys. Built in a lower plane of the lot, the house has a partial circular crown plan offering a panoramic view of such a beautiful environment, in the architect's words, that it could not be disregarded by a straight plan which would guide  the observers' views. "That shape is logical. When you reach that place, you can't decide what is more beautiful", explains Lelé. The house is provided with simple lighting and natural ventilation systems which are recurrent in Lelé's works. The thermal insulation of the cover, for instance, is guaranteed by a ventilated air cushion between the ceiling and the tiles and by layers of a non-fabric polyester geo-textile, applied in the internal surface of both. The material also helps in the acoustic treatment of the residence, while the water garden softens the effects of the region's dry climate: integrated to the social area, it beautifies and creates a pleasant micro-climate.