New Moon House / Vivian Hunnicutt arquitetas e associadas
Text description provided by the architects. The Village of Caraíva, located in the state of Bahia, Brazil, is a place ahead of its time, despite maintaining the characteristics of a fishing village where there are no cars, no public lighting and its streets preserve the magic of the sand between the delta of the Caraíva river and the Pataxó village. Inspired by this magical scenery and reflecting on how and where to find quality of life in a slower pace, the Lua Nova house was created, located on this peninsula bathed by the waters of the river and the sea. If before it was Empty Luxury that sparkled the eyes, today we need to reinvent ourselves to meet an increasingly discreet, contemplative and conscious demand seeking luxury in the perfect simplicity of Nature.
Accordingly, we use deconstructive concepts and elements that reinforce this philosophy:
- Banana tree circle trench for greywater treatment, an example of social technology for rural sanitation, preserving the integrity of the groundwater;
- Skylight for natural lighting;
- Solar plates for water heating;
- Deck in reused demolition wood, the crosspieces used in train rails gain a new use;
- Many doors and windows with shutters contemplate the project thus providing a cross ventilation which keeps the house always ventilated and cool even in the hottest days in Bahia. This model of shutter frames gives us the possibility to have a curtain to control the light entering the rooms.
It is a long way to rescue the origins of materials and construction methods of Brazilian architecture, at Casa Lua Nova we preserved the centennial cashew tree that surrounds and embraces the house, giving it shade and light in the right measure, we used adobe walls in the open bath, diving into our indigenous roots, and all the roof of the house is made of taubilha (roof with wooden tiles), which also makes all the difference in the thermal and acoustic comfort of the environment.
The almost wall-less house has a double height ceiling with the mezzanine providing spaciousness. In the decoration, the Bahian style cannot be mistaken. The project is focused on using local materials, resignifying objects and escaping from the blue and white cliché, so we applied our own dendê, the traditional Bahian palm oil. Local artists reinforce and dignify this identity. Always using and working with local suppliers, training the eye and living Bahia!
