Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the "Casa da Rua Escócia" explores the idea of living within a garden rather than simply beside one.
Designed by FGMF Arquitetos, the 590-square-meter residence is conceived around a radical premise: to preserve as much open ground as possible, allowing architecture and landscape to merge into a single continuous experience. Positioned along the side and rear boundaries of the lot, the house frees an expansive green area that becomes the true heart of the project, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior space.
In this film, we take an in-depth tour of the house with the architects behind the project, exploring the ideas, spatial strategies, and construction decisions that shaped its design.
A monumental concrete wall runs through the project as both structure and architecture. Serving simultaneously as load-bearing element, enclosure, and finish, it organizes circulation and creates a powerful spatial framework. Along this wall, a linear elevated walkway connects the bedrooms, overlooking a double-height living space and reinforcing the sense of continuity that defines the house.
The ground floor is envisioned as an open landscape where architecture recedes and nature takes center stage. Trees, gardens, covered terraces, and living areas are experienced as part of a single flowing environment, a sequence of spaces that alternate between open and enclosed, shaded and sunlit, without ever losing their connection to one another.
Materiality plays a central role in shaping the atmosphere of the residence. Heavy cast-in-place concrete forms the structural base, while lighter timber-clad volumes appear to float above it. The wood façades are finished with Lunawood, a thermally modified timber known for its durability and ability to weather naturally over time, gradually acquiring the silver-grey patina that protects the material and enhances its organic character.
The landscape design, developed in collaboration with Rodrigo Oliveira, strengthens the dialogue between architecture and nature, contributing to the feeling that the house emerges naturally from its surroundings rather than being imposed upon them.
The upper-level bedroom volumes are deliberately fragmented, allowing daylight, views, and ventilation to pass between them. Narrow openings and carefully framed sightlines create changing experiences throughout the day, while the eastern orientation ensures access to soft morning light. As sunlight moves across the house, shadows, reflections, and spatial relationships continuously transform, giving the architecture a dynamic and evolving character.
More than a private residence, the Scotland Street House is an exploration of openness, continuity, and the relationship between architecture, landscape, and time—an example of how contemporary design can create spaces that feel both precise and deeply connected to nature.
Project: Casa da Rua Escócia
Architecture: FGMF Architects
Landscape Design: Rodrigo Oliveira
Film by: Architecture Hunter
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Cover Image courtesy of FGMF
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Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the "Casa da Rua Escócia" explores the idea of living within a garden rather than simply beside one.
Designed by FGMF Arquitetos, the 590-square-meter residence is conceived around a radical premise: to preserve as much open ground as possible, allowing architecture and landscape to merge into a single continuous experience. Positioned along the side and rear boundaries of the lot, the house frees an expansive green area that becomes the true heart of the project, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior space.
In this film, we take an in-depth tour of the house with the architects behind the project, exploring the ideas, spatial strategies, and construction decisions that shaped its design.
A monumental concrete wall runs through the project as both structure and architecture. Serving simultaneously as load-bearing element, enclosure, and finish, it organizes circulation and creates a powerful spatial framework. Along this wall, a linear elevated walkway connects the bedrooms, overlooking a double-height living space and reinforcing the sense of continuity that defines the house.
The ground floor is envisioned as an open landscape where architecture recedes and nature takes center stage. Trees, gardens, covered terraces, and living areas are experienced as part of a single flowing environment, a sequence of spaces that alternate between open and enclosed, shaded and sunlit, without ever losing their connection to one another.
Materiality plays a central role in shaping the atmosphere of the residence. Heavy cast-in-place concrete forms the structural base, while lighter timber-clad volumes appear to float above it. The wood façades are finished with Lunawood, a thermally modified timber known for its durability and ability to weather naturally over time, gradually acquiring the silver-grey patina that protects the material and enhances its organic character.
The landscape design, developed in collaboration with Rodrigo Oliveira, strengthens the dialogue between architecture and nature, contributing to the feeling that the house emerges naturally from its surroundings rather than being imposed upon them.
The upper-level bedroom volumes are deliberately fragmented, allowing daylight, views, and ventilation to pass between them. Narrow openings and carefully framed sightlines create changing experiences throughout the day, while the eastern orientation ensures access to soft morning light. As sunlight moves across the house, shadows, reflections, and spatial relationships continuously transform, giving the architecture a dynamic and evolving character.
More than a private residence, the Scotland Street House is an exploration of openness, continuity, and the relationship between architecture, landscape, and time—an example of how contemporary design can create spaces that feel both precise and deeply connected to nature.
Project: Casa da Rua Escócia
Architecture: FGMF Architects
Landscape Design: Rodrigo Oliveira
Film by: Architecture Hunter
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Cover Image courtesy of FGMF
Get to know other recent videos:
Interviews with the Creators: Studio MK27’s Biribinhas Private Beach House:
youtu.be/GI0H8tgoZpg
Gem of Private Brazilian Beaches: Studio MK27's Biribinhas Coastal Masterpiece:
youtu.be/bFygwzLR718
Interview: The Vision of Jacobsen Inside a Suspended Beach House in Rio de Janeiro:
youtu.be/xN1YbN1Jgws
Hunt, Watch & Read: architecturehunter.com
Instagram: instagram.com/architecture_hunter/.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/architecturehunter
TikTok: tiktok.com/@archihunters
Pinterest: br.pinterest.com/architecture_hunter
Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/31rpvbv5iupkrb7sx6qmcmf4wx2q?si=f56d619441d14cc3&nd=1
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: architecturehunter.com/newsletter
