The Box House: A Modern Fortress Of Retractable Walls & Courtyards

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Architect Flavio Castro of FC Studio in São Paulo, Brazil embarked upon building his very own private home, a project he aptly entitled the ‘Box House’. The house is a two-storey, one bedroom abode, where most of the rooms are equipped with sliding walls that open up to lush courtyards. Castro chose to utilise the largest amount of buildable land possible for his flat-roofed creation, which limited the use of glass on two of the facades that come to the neighbours. A perimeter wall of concrete and sliding metal doors hide the property from the residential neighbourhood in which it stands, on a rectangular corner situated plot.

In pursuit of a brief construction period, Castro adopted prefabricated elements that are atypical to Brazil, and durable materials that included steel, concrete and glass. However, the fast tracked frame and hardy materials seem to fade away amongst the flourishing greenery that grows around.

Earthy toned furniture fits with the surrounding plants, whilst two crisp white modern coffee tables occupy the centre spot in the living room. A floating staircase ascends the back wall of the living room – appearing more like a piece of contemporary art than a set of steps.

The property pushes up against the boundary on this side – leaving just enough room for a narrow border of tropical plants. Mini planters bring greenery to the centre of the room on the coffee tables.

Blue nesting tables and a blue toned area rug add some fresh colour to the interior. The red accent pieces in the room create high contrast and heat.

To the side of the main living space, there is an outside dining area. A round table is equipped with five modern outdoor chairs.

The outdoor dining set is situated on a tiled patio, which has a small reflection pool sunken into it.

Fully retractable walls make for a seamless transition between inside and out – perfect for living in a hot climate.

When the doors are retracted, it’s the concrete perimeter that becomes the new walls of the house.

The textured concrete of the perimeter wall becomes part of the home decor, along with bright green veined leaves and striped grasses.

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Between the lounge layout and the open staircase design on the rear wall, there is an indoor dining spot too. Here, four red dining chairs sit at a square wooden table close by the kitchen.

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The neighbouring kitchen moves away from the bright white, red and blue colour story of the dining area and lounge decor, opting for a more shadowy brown-grey look instead.

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The kitchen extends over three solid walls and a long peninsula.

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The long narrow floor space of the galley kitchen layout has been kept light to match with the worktops and backsplash.

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A large fridge-freezer eats up a chunk of cabinet space at one end of the kitchen run, along with an integrated microwave and oven.

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The other side of some kitchen cabinets become decor. Modern art and lighting decorate the wood effect panels. A bathroom is concealed within a cabinet volume that matches the kitchen, just beyond the front door.

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A second living room resides upstairs, overlooking the small garden. The upstairs lounge has a menagerie of modern furniture, including a couple of mismatched marble and wood coffee tables that have been set in an interlocking arrangement.

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The varying colours of the curated furniture are uplifted by a blue-green area rug, which covers most of the rich stained wood flooring.

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Another section of the floating staircase scales the wall here, leading to the roof, with nerve-racking views all the way down to the ground floor. This is built upon the wall that is in close proximity to the neighbours, thus making the most out of an opaque design restriction.

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One towering vertical picture window adjacent to the steps, along with a stretch of windows above, make the staircase design into a lightwell.

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A unique storage console holds books, art and plants.

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Between the second lounge and the bedroom, a wall has been clad in the same wood effect material as covers the kitchen downstairs.

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Nighttime reading material is stowed away inside an unusual headboard design, with angled wings attached at hinges. A modern bedroom chair brings added interest to the opposite corner of the room.

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A headboard feature wall has been fashioned by hanging a collection of bevelled mirrors.

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Nestled inside the storage ‘wing’ of the headboard is a small side table holding decorative vases. Behind the bed, an ensuite shower enclosure is fitted with dual shower heads.

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Sheer drapes shroud the window.

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LED lighting glows along the top of a console unit underneath a wall mounted tv.

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Brown-grey wood effect panels colour the tv wall decor.

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A modern vanity unit is wall mounted below a floating mirror.

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Climbing plants outside the window bring greenery to the wash space.

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Another wash space has an extended version of the same wall mounted modern vanity unit.

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The flat roof of the house is utilised as an outdoor entertaining area.

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Large steel doors pivot to open the ground floor to the enclosed courtyard.

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Corrugated steel doors wrap around the top storey of the home to completely block sunlight from entering the home horizontally – though three skylights still accept natural light into the bath and shower rooms.