Gávea Arquitetos Transforms Ruin into Ibitipoca House in Minas Gerais

In the Serra do Ibitipoca, Minas Gerais, the Ibitipoca House by Gávea Arquitetos emerges from the reuse of an old ruined building. Completed in 2025, the 135 m² project is a renovation that begins with a disassembly operation to preserve, reconfigure, and re-inscribe existing materials and traces into the present. Rather than erasing the previous construction, the design makes it the material and conceptual origin of the new house. The lead architects are Alziro Carvalho Neto and Felipe Rio Branco, with coordination by Júlia Carreiro. The project team includes Caique Cerqueira and Luana Balthazar, while the technical team comprises Paula Peret and Marcela Bergamini. Rafael Salim is responsible for the photographs. The project falls under the categories of Houses and Renovation. Curated by Susanna Moreira, the original version is available in Portuguese. The house exemplifies adaptive reuse, turning decay into a foundation for contemporary living.