Zanine Caldas' trajectory spans architecture, design and furniture in a body of work marked by wood and integration with nature
Submitted at Sep 16, 2026, 4:00 PM
Zanine Caldas, designer. (Divulgação/Divulgação)
José Zanine Caldas is one of the most unique names in 21st-century Brazilian architecture. Self-taught, the Belmonte, Bahia native worked as a model maker, architect, landscape designer, sculptor, designer, and furniture maker, building a career marked by the use of wood and by the integration between architecture and nature.
His work gained prominence mainly for the wooden houses built on sites where the landscape played a fundamental role. Instead of imposing the construction on the site, Zanine sought to understand the terrain, the vegetation and the climate to create spaces integrated with the surroundings.
Born on April 25, 1919, in Belmonte (BA), Zanine began working with drawing and models at a young age. In the 1940s, he created a workshop in Rio de Janeiro specialized in the production of models for architectural projects. Prototypes of works by names such as Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Oswaldo Arthur Bratke passed through there.
Zanine Caldas em uma de suas obras, Acervo Zanini de Zanine (Divulgação)
The experience with models helped develop a keen eye for structure, proportion and materials. Later, this practice would evolve into an architecture of his own, marked mainly by wood.
Without a university degree in architecture, Zanine also taught at the University of Brasília and was internationally recognized for his work. In 1991, he received the Médaille d'argent de l'Architecture from the Académie d'Architecture de Paris.
Nature does not appear only as a backdrop in his projects; it participates in the architecture. Topography, vegetation, climate, and landscape were elements considered in the placement of the buildings, a characteristic especially evident in his residences.
Na foto, Banco SESC, de Lina Bo Bardi. (Divulgação/Divulgação)
Wood also holds a central position in this relationship. From the late 1960s onwards, Zanine began using tree roots and trunks that had been discarded due to deforestation in the production of furniture, benches, tables, and armchairs. In 1980, he created the Center for the Development of Wood Applications, dedicated to research on the use of Brazilian woods and the reduction of forest destruction.
During the period he lived in Brasília, Zanine designed and built more than 20 wooden residences, mainly between the 1960s and 1980s. The houses show how the architect explored different solutions to integrate construction and terrain.
(Divulgação/Divulgação)
Among them is the Bettiol House, designed in 1974. The residence was organized into independent blocks connected by verandas and covered walkways, enhancing the relationship with the landscape of Lake Paranoá.
In the late 1960s, Zanine began building a series of houses in Joatinga, in Rio de Janeiro. The projects took advantage of the region's rugged geography and explored the presence of vegetation and the views of the surroundings.
Zanine Caldas, Joatinga, Rio de Janeiro, 1968, foto José Medeiros, acervo Déa Zanine (José Medeiros/Divulgação)
The architect's own house, built in the region, became an example of this approach: elements such as wood, doors, window frames and other components were reused from demolitions, reinforcing the concern with the use of materials.
Frans Krajcberg. (Divulgação/Divulgação)
In Nova Viçosa, Bahia, Zanine designed, in 1971, the studio of the artist Frans Krajcberg, with whom he also shared concerns related to environmental preservation. The project is part of a phase in which the architect deepened his research on natural materials and local construction techniques.
Alongside architecture, Zanine Caldas built an equally remarkable design production, especially through the creation of furniture and objects in wood. His work stood out for the use of tree trunks, roots and leftovers, transformed into pieces that highlighted the natural forms of the material.
Namoradeira, por Zanine Caldas. (Divulgação/Divulgação)
In the 1970s, the architect created Zanine Caldas Móveis, in São José dos Campos, where he developed a series of furniture pieces. Benches, tables, armchairs and sculptures explored large volumes of wood and often maintained their organic characteristics, such as curves, knots and irregularities.
Poltrona assinada por Zanine Caldas, Dpot. (Divulgação/Divulgação)
This production did not necessarily follow the logic of hiding the imperfections of the raw material. On the contrary: wood was the protagonist of the design. Trunks and roots discarded by deforestation gained new life in pieces of strong sculptural presence, bringing design, art and nature closer together.
Zanine's work remains relevant for showing that architecture and landscaping can be thought of in an integrated way. His houses did not seek only to occupy a plot of land: they sought to establish a direct relationship with it.
(Divulgação/Divulgação)
This vision also helps explain why wood became so important in his production. The material appears in the structure, in the enclosures, in the furniture and in the details, creating a continuity between interior and exterior.
Today, his work continues to be revisited in exhibitions and research. In 2026, the exhibition Zanine Caldas – Creation of Worlds, at Instituto Tomie Ohtake, brings together his production and reinforces the permanence of his legacy in Brazilian architecture, design and culture.
This text was developed with the assistance of CASACOR Publisher, an exclusive content agent developed by the CASACOR Technology team based on the knowledge base of casacor.com.br. The generated content was subsequently edited by Yeska Coelho.
