A VARIABLE IN PAULO MENDES DA ROCHA’S SINGLE-STOREY HOUSES
Fe nando Delgado Páez
Uni e sidade Fede al do Rio de Janei o / Fede al Uni e si y o Rio de Janei o, Rio de
Janei o, B azil
Abs ac
A he age o wen y-nine yea s old, he young Paulo Mendes da Rocha had al eady
designed no able p ojec s, and i was a ha age, in 1958, when his wo k became widely
ecognised by winning he compe i ion o he Paulis ano A hle ic Club Gymnasium wi h a
p ojec ha soon became a e e ence in he na ional a chi ec u e con ex . This momen
o ma u a ion in his wo k co esponds o a pe iod o signi ican e en s a he in e na ional
le el. Jus wo yea s be o e, e en s a CIAM 10 sugges ed ha he gene a ional ension
poin ed ou by Le Co busie led o he ad en o nume ous new pe spec i es a ec ing
in e na ional a chi ec u e p oduc ion. In pa allel, some au ho s ha e al eady no iced
sub le a ia ions in Mendes da Rocha’s wo k ha appea ed in he 1970s and sha e ideas
ha had a isen in he new in e na ional con ex . Re isi ing he wen y-one buil and
unbuil single-s o ey house p ojec s designed by he a chi ec (all o which we e designed
be ween 1961 and 2012), by analysing he ela ionship be ween he in e io ‘public’ and
‘p i a e’ spaces, i is possible o iden i y a ia ions ha mi o shi s a he in e na ional
le el. No ing ha he e is a di e gence o solu ions p oposed by Mendes da Rocha in his
i s houses when compa ed o his la es designs, his pape joins ecen con ibu ions o
o he au ho s showing he e ogenei ies in he a chi ec ’s wo k and showing possible new
di ec ions in his wo k ha appea ed du ing he pos -CIAM yea s.
Keywo ds: Paulo Mendes da Rocha; House; Mode n A chi ec u e; B azilian A chi ec u e.
‘Ra ionalised a elas’
Pe haps one o Paulo Mendes da Rocha's mos publicized wo ks is he house he
designed o himsel in 1964. On one o he ea lies occasions his house was
published, in Ac opolis magazine No. 343 o 1967, he philosophe and a
his o ian Flá io Mo a nicknamed he dwelling design p oposed by he a chi ec a
‘ a ionalised a ela’, since ‘e e y pe son accep s he p esence o he o he , wi hou
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solid walls, bu a he in new and desi able condi ions o human espec ’ (Mo a,
1967, p. 18). In Mo a’s wo ds, i was ‘ he space as a social p ojec ’ (Mo a, p.
18).
Room pa i ions do no each he ceiling, which means indi idual insula ion is
ne e e ec i ely achie ed. As Ana Luiza Nob e poin s ou , ‘ he imposing cha ac e
o his p ojec co esponds [...] o a non-con o mi y o cus oms and habi s o
com o undamen ally in solida i y wi h a social sys em ha gi es p i ilege o
indi idual in e es s, o he de imen o communi y li e’ (Nob e, 2007). As in he
FAU-USP building, designed by Vilano a A igas jus h ee yea s ea lie , he low
pa i ions in eg a e all spaces unde a single oo , which allows he building o be
seized by hose who ind hemsel es in i as a la ge collec i e space. These
peculia i ies o he house, as well as he FAU-USP, a e no s ange compa ed o
o he p ojec s o wha is called he School o São Paulo. Abou he houses o his
pe iod, Segawa commen s ha in e io s ‘we e admi ably open, wi h luid
en i onmen s ha a e physically and isually in e connec ed, o en abolishing
adi ional hie a chies o use and coexis ence. Communi y spaces we e alued;
he p i a e nooks compac ed’ (Segawa, 1998, p. 151).
Among he a chi ec u al ea u es poin ed ou by Ru h Ve de Zein o he School
o São Paulo, one is p ecisely he sea ch o ‘solu ions ha o e alue he common
inne space o inde ini e o open use’ (Zein, 2000, p. 384). Ano he o he
cha ac e is ics obse ed by Zein, ‘ he p e e ence o he monobloc solu ion, o in
“single olume”, housing all he unc ions o he p og am’ (Zein, p. 384) makes
he consequences o he unique pa i ions o his house e en mo e isible.
The composi ion o he loo plan and he in e nal spa ial con igu a ion o he
p og am also con ibu e o in ensi y he ela ionship be ween in ima e and social
spaces, using a design p oposal ha in e s he adi ional solu ion. As Ane e
Spi o poin s ou , ‘[ ]he loo plans emain one o he e e sed p inciple o a
classical illa. The all-encompassing cen al space has been emo ed om he
middle. I is no longe he co e o he house, bu a he now includes all o he
o he ooms, inco po a ing hem he ein’ (Spi o, 2002, p.13). The wo longi udinal
a eas a he ends o he house –o social cha ac e – su ound he cen al a ea. By
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opening he doo s, i is possible o c oss he en i e house, om acade o acade,
h ough he do mi o ies, ein o cing he idea o a single and con inuous space.
The unusual wooden shu e doo s o he bed ooms con ibu e o de eloping his
idea.
Figu e 1. G oup 1 - Low seg ega ion p oposals (Plans: Zein,
2000; Diag am: he au ho )1
Almos all in ima e a eas sha e ligh , ai , wind, sound, smell, and also he same
wooden loo boa ds o he social spaces, whose a angemen allows hem o
in ade unde he doo s all o he ooms, om he li ing oom h ough he
bed ooms, wi hou in e up ion o h eshold o change o ma e ial. The slende
conc e e beams also ly o e head, unning h ough all o he ooms. The pa i ions
1 In he diag ams, he analysed spaces we e classi ied as social (o public cha ac e such as he
li ing oom o dining oom), in ima e (o p i a e cha ac e like bed ooms o ba h ooms), ansi ional
(spaces ha in e connec social and in ima e spaces, sugges ing de achmen o sepa a ion no
necessa ily physically delimi ed by doo s o walls, as is he case o co ido s) and se ice (o neu al
na u e, such as ki chen, se ice a ea, u ili y oom, laund y oom, o dependencies o employees).
A speci ic case a e semi-public ooms, which could no i s ic ly in o social o in ima e, such as an
o ice, a elie o lib a y, and which can be conside ed as ansi ional spaces o he pu poses o his
analysis, gi en he wo p ojec s in which hey appea .
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–ca e ully execu ed in ein o ced conc e e measu ing only 3cm in dep h– seem o
aspi e o disappea .
These peculia i ies o Bu an ã House a e no , howe e , an excep ion wi hin he
a chi ec 's esiden ial wo k. Fi s because his house was designed almos as i o
be buil wice, one nex o he o he . The p ojec con empla ed he cons uc ion
o wo win houses, e y simila , one o he a chi ec and ano he o his sis e in
he adjacen lo . The win house, Luiz and Lina C uz Secco House, does no di e
om Bu an ã in e ms o he adicalism o he solu ions adop ed o he p oblem
o he social-in ima e in e ace. The win houses ind hei p eceden in he 1963
Be on Odilon Fe ei a House.
We could also conside as a ‘ a ionalised a ela’ he la e houses Nabo Ruegg
(1970) and James F ancis King (1972). Al hough hese houses seem o be less
adical, hey do no ha e he desi e o spa ial seg ega ion. The doo s o he
bed ooms con inue o be di ec ly open o he li ing oom, wi hou he sligh es
in en ion o se ing up a space o p i acy ansi ion. I could also be he case o
Ma io Mase i House (1968), which has a skyligh and a g a e on he loo se ing
as a sub le ansi ion, ye i keeps he doo s o in ima e a eas comple ely open o
social spaces, and main ains Bu an ã's sliding shu e doo s, in a desi e o
elimina e he ‘solid walls’ o which Flá io Mo a e e ed.
This sea ch o he elimina ion o ‘solid walls’ is mo e e ec i e i he whole main
p og am o he house is de eloped on a single loo , and his is he case o all he
abo e-men ioned houses. The compa men aliza ion o he p og am in o di e en
loo s would suppose an unwan ed ansi ion. In ac , wi h only he excep ion o
he house Nabo Ruegg, all he p e ious houses ha e wo loo s, howe e , he
g ound loo is composed o pilo is and only appo ioned o se ice spaces,
esul ing in he owne s’ li ing spaces being delibe a ely con ined o a single loo .
The social-in ima e in e ace o hese houses is he e o e one o he ac o s ha
has equen ly allowed us o associa e he wo k o Paulo Mendes da Rocha wi h
he School o São Paulo, which in u n associa es i sel in he in e na ional con ex
wi h he mode n mo emen . In con as , connec ions o la e pe iods a e less
equen , and some imes e en ques ioned o denied. Howe e , he las house we
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know ha sha es his ype o p oposal is he a o emen ioned James F ancis King,
1972. Gi en ha he a chi ec is cu en ly s ill p ac icing and ha we know ha
he designed nume ous o he single loo houses ha could be compa ed, i seems
necessa y o e isi hese p ojec s.
Mode a e solu ions
Only he six p ojec s al eady examined p esen he a o emen ioned pa icula i ies.
O he p ojec s show ha he a chi ec has also de eloped mode a e p oposals.
This is he case o he i s o he single-s o ey houses, Heloísa A. de Lima Mo a
House (1961), in which he e is a pa i ion ha does no each he ceiling, allowing
he c ea ion o ansi ion ci cula ion be ween he li ing oom and he bed ooms.
The access o hem in u n ecedes om he wall, con o ming a small hall ha
p ecedes he doo .
Figu e 2. G oup 2 (Pa I) - Mode a e seg ega ion p oposals
(Plans: Zein, 2000; Diag am: he au ho )

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Figu e 3. G oup 2 (Pa II) - Mode a e seg ega ion p oposals
(Plans: Zein, 2000. and Edua do Colonelli A chi e [São Ben o
do Sapucaí House]; Diag am: he au ho )
In his house, as in his las single-s o ey house p ojec , in São Ben o de Sapucaí
(2012), he e a e wo solu ions ha will be epea ed h oughou he a chi ec 's
wo k o con igu e spaces o sligh ansi ion be ween social and in ima e
en i onmen s: he co ido and he small ecessed hall. The dis ibu ion co ido
appea s imidly a A emio Fu lan House (1973), his ime h ough a 1.40m gap.
Mo e clea ly, he co ido appea s p ope ly as such in he i s house designed o
Sil io An onio Bueno Ne o (1978).
In he second and de ini i e p ojec o he house buil o Ma celo Ni sche, he
solu ion is he small ecessed lounge. This also appea s in he House on he Beach
o 1978 (in which only he mas e bed oom opens di ec ly o he li ing oom) and
Mau ício Thomaz Bas os House (1982). In o he cases, in addi ion o he ecess,
he e is an elemen ha gi es g ea e –bu no excessi e– p i acy o he access
o he bed ooms. This is he case o he inal p ojec o F ancisco Mal a Ca doso
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House (1964), in which he obs acle consis s o a couple o ba h ooms. An isola ed
ba h oom is in e posed in he ecess o wo o he bed ooms o he Cháca a dos
Bambus (1973), while he o he bed oom is also p eceded by a small hall. In
Ge assi House (1989) his hall is la ge and he elemen ha in e poses sugges ing
delimi a ion is he ligh o a skyligh in he ceiling, accompanied by he en ila ion
g id ha i p ojec s in he loo .
S eps in he opposi e di ec ion
Figu e 4. G oup 3 - High seg ega ion p oposals (Plans: Zein,
2000; Diag am: he au ho )
Only a yea a e he p ojec o he James F ancis King House, he las o he
‘ a ionalised a elas’, Paulo Mendes da Rocha designed Ligia/New on Ca nei o J .
House, whe e he chosen di ec ion seems o lie agains he i s g oup o his wo ks.
This house, designed in 1973, he same da e as he a o emen ioned A emio
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Fulan, sha es wi h i he inco po a ion, o he i s ime in he a chi ec 's single-
s o ey houses, o dis inc le els inside he house. Al hough in bo h cases he
dimensions gene a e a dis ance om he in ima e en i onmen s in ela ion o
hose o social use, in Ligia / New on Ca nei o J . House his one becomes
e iden ly mo e in ense. The small gap o only 70cm is now e e sed, loca ing he
li ing oom in a lowe le el and no in he opposi e, which esul s in a smalle ,
mo e p o ec ed heigh , since he oo is le elled in all he house. The 70cm could
no suppose a ba ie , bu he ailing seems o ha e been designed in en ionally
solid, esul ing he e o e in a wall o app oxima ely 2m o heigh om he li ing
oom, ha obs uc s he ision o he access o he bed ooms2. The gap, on he
o he hand, demanded he c ea ion o a co ido whose gene ous design makes i
possible o unc ion as a g ea hall o ansi ion be ween social and in ima e
spaces. This ansi ional space is also emphasized by a zeni h opening in he oo
ha sepa a es he slab in wo pa s and ha e e s o he solu ion o Ma io Mase i
House. Howe e , his ea u e does no seem o ha e he same meaning as in he
a o emen ioned house, since i is no hidden in he acade as in Mase i, bu isible.
I is possible o pe cei e om he ex e io ha he e is an in e up ion in he slab,
hus indica ing a imid and sub le desi e o b eak he monobloc in o wo pa s ha
begin o sepa a e.
Fo ha eason, his house seems o be he emb yo o a se ies, which would be
ollowed by he houses Paulo/Lucia F ancini (1975) and Helena Ome o (1978). In
bo h houses a cen al space unc ions as a cou ya d ha physically sepa a es he
house in o wo pa s, he social spaces and he in ima e spaces. Al hough in he
wo houses i is no possible om he ou side o see he di ided ceiling, as was
he case o he p e ious wo k, he up u e in he in e nal spaces is g ea e , and
he co ido o he p e ious wo ks is now a walkway ha signi ican ly sepa a es
he li ing oom om he dis ibu ion hall o he bed ooms. The a o emen ioned
dis ibu ion hall in Paulo/Lucia F ancini House s ill elies on he ecess o he doo s
o he h ee bed ooms mo e exposed o he li ing oom, plus a le el gap o 1,20m
abo e he li ing oom. In Helena Ome o House, he ecess o he bed oom doo
2 Acco ding o he d awings consul ed, i is solid, p obably o ein o ced conc e e, which was a
ecu ing solu ion a ha ime, as in he ailing o he uppe loo o he Fe nando Millan House.
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exis s bu is smalle , and he e is no di e ence in le el, bu he ki chen is
in e posed as an obs acle and he li ing oom, unlike he p e ious case, has i s
la ges opening in he opposi e di ec ion o he ooms.
The mos emblema ic case o his se ies is he house in Cab eú a (1995). In his
house, he seg ega ion be ween he in ima e and social en i onmen s becomes
adical, since he house is composed o wo olumes adically di e en , each
dedica ed o housing a ype o use. While one olume has la oo , he o he has
i inclined. While one is geome ically egula he o he is i egula . In addi ion o
hese and many o he di e ences, he wo nuclei a e e en sepa a ed by a
wa e cou se. To c oss i om he li ing oom i is necessa y o change le els by
climbing some s eps and u ning sha ply, which allows us o walk h ough a
co ido ha is in u h mo e o a walkway. A e c ossing i , i is possible o each
a second co ido ha only hen allows access o he ooms. This Home ian ou e
in Cab eú a has no possible kinship wi h ha o he ‘ a ionalised a ela’. The idea
o he home wi hou ‘solid walls’ by Flá io Mo a om he i s houses is
un ecognizable he e. I he indi idual space was sepa a ed om he collec i e
space in he house in Bu an ã by h ee cen ime es, he e we ha e h ee walls o
sepa a ion. In addi ion, one o he h ee walls ha in e pose is he hickes o he
whole p ojec , a s uc u al wall o s one, possibly he mos ep esen a i e
pa adigm o ‘solid wall’. Pe haps he only emo e eminde o he ‘ a ionalised
a ela’ –which he a chi ec cle e ly le as a p o oca ion o he unwa y who seeks
o unambiguously o de ini i ely unde s and his wo k– is he disconce ing p ecise
alignmen o he single gap o he s one wall wi h he gaps o he h ee walls in
he walkway. These gaps allow hose who happen o no ice hem o (albei wi h
di icul y) isually c oss he whole house o ‘solid walls’, bu only on his axis, in
he junc ion poin ha connec s he wo blocs. I can be seen as a eminde ha
he connec ion o he wo olumes is as a duous as i is lee ing.
Among he mo e seg ega ed solu ions, we mus add an ea lie p ojec , A lindo
Ca alho House, 1974. Al hough no pa o he se ies o bi-nuclea e o quasi-
binuclea e houses, i is impo an because i ehea ses, wi hin monobloc
p oposals, a signi ican isola ion solu ion in he in ima e ooms. In his case, he
h ee s ips appea in he classic e sion quo ed ea lie by Ane e Spi o. The
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Zein, R. V. (2000). A qui e u a b asilei a, Escola Paulis a e as casas de Paulo Mendes da
Rocha. Po o Aleg e: P opa -UFRGS.
Fe nando Delgado Páez, quali ied as an A chi ec a Uni e si y o Málaga (Spain) and
has a Mas e o A chi ec u e deg ee in Theo y, His o y and C i icism om he School o
A chi ec u e and U banism o he Fede al Uni e si y o Rio de Janei o (B azil), whe e he
was a esea che a he Robe o Seg e A chi e and he is cu en ly a PhD s uden .