Pupunha House Blends Living Space and Amazon Flora

Perched at one of the highest points of a residential community in Manaus and bordering a permanent conservation area, Pupunha House treats the garden as the main event. Landscape architect Hana Eto Gall and her studio, Hana Eto Gall Landscape, shaped the outdoor spaces as a direct conversation with the Amazon rainforest, turning the typical “house with a yard” logic into something more like “forest with a home inside it.”

The architecture, designed by Laurent Troost Architectures, and interiors by Chris Coimbra, support that idea instead of fighting it. Rather than drawing a hard border between built and natural, the project leans into a soft edge: vegetation is allowed to approach, overlap, and visually stitch together the residence and its surroundings.

Arrival as a Tropical Microclimate

The approach to Pupunha House is designed as a sensorial sequence, not a driveway-to-door transaction. Visitors follow a path immersed in tropical planting, where broad leaves, layered textures, and shifting shade create a naturally cooled, humid microclimate. It is the kind of arrival that makes you slow down, partly because it feels calmer, and partly because dense planting has a way of quietly telling humans to stop acting like they own the place.

This “garden-first” strategy also supports comfort without heavy visual barriers. Instead of relying on walls and fences, the landscape uses plant massing, canopy, and filtered views to deliver privacy and a sense of enclosure, while keeping the house connected to the wider forest edge.

Blurring Boundaries Between Home and Forest

The project’s key move is how greenery extends into the architecture and aligns with circulation routes. Planting is not treated as decoration at the perimeter, but as a spatial material that accompanies daily movement. As you transition through outdoor and semi-outdoor areas, the landscape continues to “follow” you, making nature feel less like scenery and more like a roommate that does not pay rent but still runs the house.

That continuity also helps the residence feel lighter in the terrain. The design supports the impression of a home that “floats” above the forest canopy, where the planted layers soften built edges and reduce the visual impact of the structure against the conservation area.

Native Planting Palette with Amazonian Identity

Plant selection focuses on native and climate-adapted tropical species, prioritizing resilience, ecological value, and the unmistakable presence of Amazonian flora. The palette includes Calatheas, Alocasias, Heliconias, banana trees, and palms, chosen for their performance in local conditions and their ability to build a lush, structured landscape without forcing the site into an imported garden style.

Equally important, part of the existing vegetation was preserved, while new species with ecological and aesthetic value were introduced. This approach reinforces biodiversity while also improving livability: shade, comfort, and habitat value are treated as design outcomes, not bonus features.

Sustainable Systems That Respect the Ecosystem

Behind the scenes, Pupunha House relies on an automated irrigation system and an implementation strategy designed to respect both the terrain and the surrounding ecosystem. In a climate where heat, humidity, and heavy rain can quickly punish fragile landscapes, the project’s sustainable logic is straightforward: work with local conditions, avoid unnecessary disturbance, and support long-term plant health from day one.

By preserving existing vegetation, introducing ecologically relevant species, and turning the garden into the project’s central organizing idea, Hana Eto Gall and Hana Eto Gall Landscape frame Pupunha House as a residential landscape that strengthens its relationship to the rainforest rather than merely borrowing its aesthetics.