This Urban House Hides a Secret Garden Inside — And Keeps the City Out

What if an urban house didn’t defend itself from the city — but filtered it, softened it, and transformed everyday life into a calm retreat?

Lechuza House was designed around gardens, courtyards, and carefully choreographed paths that place nature at the center of daily life. From a discreet street presence to a sequence of lush inner spaces, this house proves that true luxury isn’t exposure — it’s serenity, privacy, and light.

In this video, we explore how architecture, landscape, and movement come together to create an urban refuge that feels surprisingly quiet, intimate, and deeply connected to greenery.

This is not a house that shows everything.
It’s a house that knows exactly what to keep for itself.

Architecture: ARKITITO Arquitetura
Location: Vila Madalena, São Paulo (SP), Brazil
Project year: 2021
Conclusion year: 2022
Plot area: 300m²
Built area: 235m²
Leader architects: Chantal Ficarelli, Tito Ficarelli
Architecture team: Claudia Piaia
Photos: Ricardo Faiani

#Architecture #ModernHouse #UrbanDesign #CourtyardHouse #BrazilianArchitecture #GardenHouse #MinimalArchitecture #HouseDesign #ArchitectureVideo #ResidentialArchitecture

Similar Posts

  • Coburg House

    Having lovingly restored the front of this Californian Bungalow, our clients were seeking help to reinvent the back of the home. The brief was to create a functional, beautiful and bright abode for their family. We achieved this with a combination of re-purposing the existing spaces and adding a small extension to the back and side. We added a new Kitchen, Bathroom, Laundry and Living space, all with a strong connection to the outdoors. We played with the ceiling forms to create spaces within the overall space, while soft natural light is introduced into the depths of the home with skylights. We also paid homage to the simple heritage details of the era by referencing the overall form and textures of the old Californian Bungalow.

  • Magnolia Residence

    A new residence located in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood designed as a simple three-story form wrapped in a cedar rainscreen and stretched across the width of the property to maximize views west toward Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Spaces are arranged according to the importance of prospect and refuge. Primary social spaces are located on the top floor where the view is best and where kitchen, dining and living flow seamlessly together in one loft-like space. Private functions — sleeping and bathing — occur on the second level screened from the street. The ground floor contains entry, garage and an opening through the house, front to back — a covered exterior gathering space that frames the view of water and mountain for the passerby at the street. Contractor: Dovetail
    Landscape Architect: Land Morphology