The renovation project for this apartment in the São Bento neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte, was driven by the desire to create a bright, vibrant, and affective space — a home with soul, reflecting the personality of its residents: a couple connected to the city's cultural scene. The 130 sq. meter unit is located in the Solar dos Arcos building, a 1970s construction notable for its green-tiled facade and generous arches, icons in the landscape of the Santa Lúcia dam.
The proposal was to optimize the rooms, expand the social area, and integrate the spaces in a fluid and reversible way. The kitchen, previously isolated, gained prominence: the former service bathroom was demolished, and the laundry room was compacted. This allowed the kitchen to open up to the dining room, connecting with the residents' daily rituals and gatherings. A large metal-framed door with fluted glass was designed to offer privacy when needed, but without sacrificing light or visual lightness.
Between the kitchen and the service area, a second metal door with generous openings ensures cross-ventilation and natural lighting. Ventilation and transparency were conceived as elements of comfort and also of architectural language.
One of the bedrooms was transformed into a TV room, expanding the social area and offering versatility to the apartment's use. Through a third metal-framed door with fluted glass, the space can easily convert into a guest bedroom: a feature that demonstrates a concern for multifunctionality, without losing the cohesive visual character of the ensemble.
The color palette chosen for the metal structures, inspired by the tones of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, created striking contrasts with the white walls and the Tauari hardwood flooring. These intense yet elegant tones engage in a dialogue with the residents' collection of furniture, folk art objects, and affective pieces, forming an atmosphere of a lived-in home, free of rigidity.
In the bathrooms, the chromatic experimentation went further. The choice of ordinary, cost-effective wall and floor coverings was elevated by bold layouts and geometric designs that transform the trivial into an authorial gesture.
The result is a solar apartment, sensitively colored, where architectural elements like doors, flooring, colors, and openings act as a backdrop for a life permeated by art, conviviality, and memory. A home that breathes Belo Horizonte, and that, like its city, balances tradition and invention with naturalness.
