Architect Bernardo Richter took cues from a holiday home by Alvar Aalto when designing this brick house in Curitiba, Brazil.

Courtyard House is located in a residential condominium in the Brazilian city. Richter, the founder of Brazilian studio Arquea Arquitetos built the one storey, 250 square-metre residence for himself.
Richter designed the property to reference Alvar Aalto's experimental Muuratsalo house, which the Finnish architect also completed for himself in 1953 as a summer holiday home.

"Almost in parallel to the experimental home of Muuratsalo of Alvar Aalto, the admiration for the work of the Finnish architect is seen in the inspiration of volumetry and the sum of small gestures that create a genuinely hospitable architecture," Richter said. A large outdoor courtyard is placed the centre of the house with the social, private and mechanical areas branching off from it. Grey stone pavers cover the patio surface, which is punctured by a large fire pit in its centre.

"From the entrance hall, it is possible to quickly understand the space since the whole house is drawn around a central square, the courtyard," Richter added.
The front of Courtyard House has no windows. Instead, a large recessed wooden garage door connects to a monolithic brick volume to form the residence's front.

Windows and sliding glass are placed along the sides of the residence facing the yard to bring in natural light. Additional illumination is provided by windows that ...