Mom’s House by Studio Zé

Located in Feira Nova, a small town of approximately 20,000 inhabitants in the Pernambuco hinterlands of Brazil, Mom’s House is a sensitive residential renovation designed by Studio Zé. The project transforms the longtime home of the architect’s mother, originally built in the 1980s using traditional adobe construction, into a healthier, more functional living environment while preserving its cultural and material identity.

Feira Nova is widely recognized for its cassava flour production, and the house reflects the construction logic and social dynamics common to low-income households in the region. Over several decades, the residence underwent multiple informal expansions—an adaptive but often problematic practice—resulting in overcrowded interiors, poor ventilation, insufficient natural lighting, and compromised spatial organization. As the resident aged and developed respiratory illnesses, these environmental deficiencies became a critical concern, motivating a comprehensive yet economically viable renovation.

Design Approach and Conceptual Framework

The project is grounded in the principles outlined by Armando de Holanda’s “Roteiro para construir no Nordeste” (2010), which advocates climate-responsive architecture rooted in local knowledge. Studio Zé prioritized natural materials, cross-ventilation, and passive lighting strategies, all while maintaining low construction and maintenance costs.

Importantly, the renovation was designed to be executed by locally available, minimally specialized labor, reinforcing regional building traditions and ensuring practical feasibility. Rather than erasing the house’s history, the intervention embraces its layered past, refining it through architectural clarity.

Spatial Reorganization and Environmental Performance

Due to financial limitations, the renovation focused primarily on the facade and social areas, preserving the original adobe walls. These walls, beyond their cultural value, significantly contribute to improved thermal performance, offering natural insulation suited to the hot, semi-arid climate.

A key architectural gesture involved raising the ceiling height in one section of the house and introducing uneven roof slopes. This move created a continuous ventilation gap, allowing hot air to escape while drawing cooler air through a line of cobogós on the west-facing facade. This passive ventilation strategy greatly enhances indoor comfort without mechanical systems.

Five underused and poorly lit rooms were demolished to create a generous living room, an internal garden, and an open terrace. These new spaces reinforce the home’s inherent sociability, strengthening connections between interior and exterior environments.

Materiality and Local Craft

Material choices throughout the project are deeply rooted in local practices. The restored entrance doors are shaded by precast concrete panels, repurposed as horizontal brise-soleil elements. These same panels also form seating for the terrace, demonstrating efficient, multifunctional design.

At the resident’s request, the original facade wall was retained but reimagined with a perforated pattern of ceramic bricks, inspired by the way bricks are stacked to dry in nearby factories. The base of the facade is clad in ceramic tiles typically used in cassava flour ovens, reinforcing the project’s strong relationship with local industry and culture.

Architecture as Dignified Permanence

Mom’s House exemplifies an architectural approach that values popular knowledge, social continuity, and environmental responsibility. Rather than imposing an external aesthetic, Studio Zé reinterprets vernacular construction through contemporary climatic strategies, proving that thoughtful design can emerge from modest means.

The project stands as a model for socially engaged residential architecture, advocating for dignified living conditions and long-term permanence within historically marginalized territories.

All the Photographs are works of Hélder Santana