On the outskirts of Brazil’s lush Atlantic Forest, a cabin stands on stilts and peeks out above the vast canopy. Called ‘Monkey House’ (or Casa Macaco in Portuguese), this unique and inventive cabin was created by Sao Paulo based architecture studio Atelier Marko Brajovic and was designed to reflect the ‘verticality of the forest’, taking inspiration from the wildlife that inhabits it.
The architects credit a family of Capuchin Monkeys with inspiring the design and construction of the cabin. A few years prior, the monkeys had disappeared from the region altogether, and it was presumed that yellow fever had spread throughout the population. But on the day that Brajovic began to consider this project, the monkeys reappeared. He says that the monkeys ‘taught us the way of why, where and how to design our project’. In this fashion, Monkey House’s design takes its cues from the natural world and emphasises a connection to the trees of Atlantic Forest, along with the various types of flora and fauna that inhabit them.
Monkey House occupies a very small section of the forest, with a footprint measuring 5 meters wide and 6 meters deep (16.4 x 19.7 ft) and reaches high into the canopy. This allows the structure to have minimal impact on the forest’s vegetation. To achieve this ambitious design, the architects looked once again to the natural world, this time finding a solution among the local plant life. The juçara plant has a very thin and tall stalk and it supports its structure with multiple prop roots that allow the plant to adapt to the uneven slope of the forest floor. The slim and dense pillars that support the structure of Monkey House mimic this design.
Other design elements of Monkey House emphasise this connection with the forest and the local environment. The interior of the house is characterised by the inclusion of handmade bamboo furnishings, curtains that are salvaged from fishing nets used by local communities, and furniture that combines elements of Japanese design with indigenous Guarani handicrafts. The top floor of Monkey House is an observatory. It is a peaceful, multi-functional space among the treetops where you can go to meditate, study, or merely observe the natural world and the stunning views of the forest. The landscaping surrounding the house was designed with a focus on reforestation, utilizing plants native to the area.
These elements combine to make Monkey House a stunning and singular design project with a profound connection to the natural forest around it. With Monkey House, Brajovic has proven that sometimes the most creative and intelligent design solutions are already present in the natural world, all we have to do is observe them.
