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When São Paulo - based designer and landscape painting intriguer Paulo Pratti was hire to design the garden of this condo in Laranjeiras , some two hours in the south of Rio de Janeiro , he was inspired by the garden of Burle Marx , a great influence on his work , yet he also visualise the cascading jungle of Rio ’s hills as a striking background straight out of a Margaret Mee picture . In the globe of the great English botanical artist who explored the Amazon realm in the late-1950s and 1960s , giant fuchsia blossoms erupt from tree diagram offshoot in inky forests growing on river hollow . Mee , a bully influence on Pratti , captures the baffling spirit of the forest and make us want to get lost in it , even without mosquito repellent . The design fuses Marx ’s gardens with Mee ’s essence of the Amazon and hybridize it with a pinch of Indonesian simplicity .
The hobo camp of Rio de Janeiro ’s hills practically cascade down into the magnificent pool and its pavilion . All of the fabrics in the overt pavilions are blue and white . " It bring the ocean in , " state fashion designer Paulo Pratti . Photo by : Romulo Fialdini . SEE MORE exposure OF THIS GARDEN
After Pratti was charter to plan the house and garden in 2006 , his customer asked him to wait at the Four Seasons resorts in Bali for inspiration . The rooms in the plate are build as open bungalows around an tremendous 95,100 - gallon swim pool , which in turn cools the house in summer . This is not just a pool to be seen lounging beside wearing a flyspeck piece of stretchable material , without ever get wet . It is n’t only a puddle where one coast like a swan and quickly come out the other end . This is the sort of pool where Burt Lancaster would have flourish — think of Ned fromThe Swimmer — accompanied by many nymphet . Wooden Harry Bridges over the pool connect dormancy stern with partying and lounging pavilions , make up the estate “ feel like a hotel or a club , ” as Pratti explains , “ constantly filled with visitors . ” The latter part of this concept is most decidedly Brazilian .
The matureDracaena arboreaacross from the main incoming . exposure by : Romulo Fialdini . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
The sparing use of walls creates an almost osmotic interchange between the outdoors and indoors . Even the few surrounding Edward Durell Stone walls of the principal lodge are plant with micro - orchidaceous plant in between the stones , as if the entire social organisation were overrun by nature . Beyond the pavilions , the more than 32,000 - square - foot garden is predominantly green year - round , with touches of yellowness and Red from bromeliads , and pinks and purples fromLaeliaandCattleyaorchids growing on tree and over Harlan Stone walls . Many of these flora , include some of the grandiloquent queen palms , arrived by boat or eggbeater , since the condo “ does n’t really have respectable route access , ” Pratti explain . To reach true genius - of - place position , he partnered with Jose Vila , an area gardener with more than 30 years of experience growing regional plants , to plan the garden . Vila ’s cacoethes for local flora is obvious , since 2,000 square feet of the garden is found with species ofHeliconia . Their hanging fervour - red flowers also feed C of hummingbirds and southern green plover , which thrive in the pesticide - gratuitous garden . From the start of the project , Vila and Pratti ’s stress was on caring for the environment . The pond is barren of chemical substance , rely on a copper filter instead , and all lumber used in the house is repurposed cumaru , an alternative to mahogany .
A view of the lawn where invitee gather around the open balefire after sunset . Photo by : Romulo Fialdini . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
The centerpiece of the garden is an oldDracaena arboreafrom the planetary house where the original possessor ’s female parent lived . When his mother passed away , he brought it to his young home and placed it in a spot easily visible from the bungalows . But the most unexpected part of Vila and Pratti ’s design is a secret garden with a daybed and magnificent pinkish bromeliads , fructify between the maestro bedroom and bathroom , which the proprietor alone can access .
Some 900 human foot from the edge of the property sits a bloodless sandy beach and the Atlantic Ocean , in case the pool is not enough . And if walking seems too nerve-wracking , the family come with a golf cart to move around the property — powered by solar vigour , because Rio is all about the sun .
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