Casas—Spanish or Portuguese for “houses”—is the perfect surname for the São Paulo–and New York–based architect Arthur Casas, who in the past 35 years has designed distinctive contemporary residences all over the world. The newest one is in the unspoiled Brazilian beach town Praia da Baleia, São Sebastião, some 90 miles outside São Paulo.

One long side of the rectangular house faces a private street (top); the living space opens up at the northeast corner (above). Photo © Leonaro Finotti, click to enlarge.