This Massive 5-Bedroom Eco House Sports a Green Roof with Solar Panels and Skylights

Introduction to the Planar House

Built just outside of the busy city of São Paulo, Brazil this incredible eco-house fits right into nature. It's a solar-powered holiday home created by Brazilian architecture firm Studio MK27. The firm is known for its forward-thinking designs that include passive house techniques and eco-friendly designs. They call this home the Planar House, and it comes in at a whopping 10,763 square feet for a family of 5. So as you can imagine, the home is very spacious and open with plenty of room for everyone. But that's just the beginning, the design of the home is impressive with a slab green roof that seems to be floating in thin air. This green roof was implemented to bring in some more natural elements and to blend the home in with its natural surroundings. It was also added to create some passive cooling and heating thanks to the thermoregulation that grass or green rooftops bring to the interior of the home. The layer of soil and plants create an insulative barrier that breaks the cold or hot air and prevents it from getting into the home. In Brazil, colder weather may not be as much of an issue, but the heat is definitely something to consider when designing a home. So that green roof will prevent it from getting too hot in the home.

Construction and Interior Design Details

The eco-house was constructed partially out of reinforced, poured in-situ concrete. They also set up metal pillars on both sides of the home to hold up the concrete slab roof. The home itself has five bedrooms all with ensuites for the couple and each of their kids. There's also housing for their staff, a kid's playroom and huge living areas. The living areas are also connected to the outdoors through sliding glass doors, and the beautiful surrounding yard can be seen whether the doors are open or closed. The north to south hallway divides the living area and the bedrooms providing just enough privacy but also keeping the entire home connected. The interior materials are concrete and timber creating a modern and warm feeling within the house. They also implemented a curved brick wall just outside of the home to create more natural lines that emulate nature and the natural world to juxtapose the straight edges and lines of the house itself. The furniture inside the home is also made out of wood mixed with soft neutral linens and accessories. It's nice to do a neutral colour palette even in a large space, especially when the architecture should be the main focus of the home.

Outdoor Features and Sustainable Living

They did add a cute chair on the patio that is a mix of different translucent and rainbow tones, and that also give the dwellers a place to sit and enjoy the surrounding views. There's also the lovely pool outside which would be the perfect place to lounge on a warm day. The property itself also has a river or a lake right on it with trees all over the property, so it's beautifully surrounded by nature and will stay naturally shaded and cool. More architects and designers are implementing passive house design concepts into their home designs to create homes that work with our planet and nature instead of against it. Homes should exist as a part of nature from now on to keep a balance and harmony with the earth, so we can live more sustainably. A home like this could produce most of its energy if it's built and designed properly and it may not even need to rely on the grid for power. This creates a more sustainable future for the owners and the planet.