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Bahian Traditions Create a Luxurious and Sustainable House

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The Bahia House by São Paulo-based Studio MK27 brings an air of the orient to Salvadore, Brazil.

The sophisticated and carefully detailed urban townhouse oozes quiet luxury.

Open to cross breezes, it needs no ugly air conditioning despite the sultry climate.

The cool stone floor and wooden ceiling are traditions in Bahian architecture.

The house was designed according to traditional principles for the climate of Bahia.

Bahian homes have clay roofs, a banal material made in a rustic manner, and wooden ceilings.

They make use the northeastern wind blowing in from the sea to organize the floor plan for comfort.

Cross ventilation in the principal space keeps the interior cool and airy.

The openings have large panels of wooden Mashrabiyas (screens) – a Moorish influence on Portuguese architecture which the Portuguese brought to Brazil in the early centuries of the colony.

But the result: an open pavilion in the combination of clay tiles and open space underneath is also reminiscent of Japanese shrine.

As is the utter serenity of these large, simple, flat, carefully composed rectangular spaces.

The result is a calm and pleasant house, that respects hard won traditions.