Brazilian modernism

In one of the most emblematic regions of Brazilian ecotourism, where nature takes center stage, architecture emerges as a tool for expression, belonging, and enhancement of the territory. Located in the city of Bonito, in Mato Grosso do Sul, central Brazil, the Sebrae headquarters was designed to represent more than just a service unit. Erich Sacco The building, designed by architect Gil de Camillo, reflects the institution’s values, embodies its commitment to the territory, and incorporates symbolic references to the region’s most iconic landscapes through a careful site plan and an architectural form that appears to float over a reflecting pool. Erich Sacco “Bonito is a city with strong environmental appeal,... More

The pavilion project originated from the client's premise: it needs to look like it has always been there. The area delimited for intervention is located in the garden of a plot of land with an existing house whose plasticity and materiality recall the Brazilian modernist movement. The exposed concrete structure of the roof becomes the shelter for the activities inside, the exposed ceramic brick fences, the wooden structural elements and the glass frames provide visual permeability and incorporate the garden landscape into the architecture. Júlia Tótoli Júlia Tótoli The design process consisted of searching for the essence of the pre-existing house, maintaining the gene of materiality that is expr... More

The Morro Vermelho Building (MV) is the new address of Rodrigo Biavati Arquitetos Associados and Esquadra Arquitetos, who together conceived a collaborative environment in a partnership that began in 2017 and where they currently share space and daily experiences. The office is located on the 12th floor of MV, covering 128m², and its design premise is to enhance the iconic features of this building, such as the modular character, exposed structure, natural lighting, and ventilation. Joana França Joana França Joana França The layout of workspaces and meeting rooms was guided by the structural modulation proposed by Lelé, with 1.10-meter spacings. This modulation extended to layout solutions, f... More

It is always a pleasure and challenge to make new things while still respecting tradition, especially in a city such as Brasília where the heritage aspect comes from a very recent age. The apartment found stood out for being practically intact in relation to its original design. The building from the 60s is located in the oldest neighborhood in the city, Asa Sul. Joana França In this project, we were lucky to work with a family who valued those aspects and still opened to experiment with new solutions. The couple's biggest motivation for the project was the desire to build a quality space for the family in a central area of the city. The guidelines were simple: openness, respect the budget, value local producers and the... More

Charlotte Taylor, founder of Maison de Sable and Nicholas Préaud, founder of ni.acki present their first collaboration, the Casa Atibaia an ethereal project in tribute to Brazilian modernism inspired by Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro. Located on the Atibaia river in São Paulo, Casa Atibaia is a home that inhabits the forest by coexisting around and in-between the landscape rather than imposing on nature. For us Brazilian modernism is all about living inside with the illusion of being outside, the purity and elegance of ramps and staircases gently swirling around in a contemplative nature with a lightness of glass façades.   Casa Atibaia sits between this delicate and airy essence and a more brutal and primit... More

The project included the renovation and reconstruction of the interior of a house from 1923 in Szczecin. The main goal of the project was to change the classic layout of the house which was divided into many smaller rooms. The ground floor, thanks to getting rid off most of the partition walls, has become an open space on which there are: a kitchen, a small dining room on a built-in veranda, a living room, a dining room and an office. On the first floor there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. According to the philosophy of Wabi-sabi, one of the main objectives of the project was to use as many natural materials as possible, walls in the whole house and ceiling joists on the first floor were covered with clay plaster, ceiling joists on t... More

This apartment, located in the Western part of Rio, is a project for a couple that presented Studio Arthur Casas with two specific demands: to highlight the spectacular view of the sea and to blend design with their art collection. From the beginning, the clients had total confidence over the proposed layout that integrated spaces and framed the landscape. Rare for this kind of project, we can affirm that what was built corresponds to the first drawings on the board.From the entrance hall, it is possible to see the Atlantic through the sliding glass door. Furniture and millwork accentuate the horizontality of the space. The clear tones of the limestone floor and of the white walls and ceiling are in contrast with the sea and the artwork, wh... More

The Emiliano Hotel arrives at Rio de Janeiro, and like the one from São Paulo, it bares the signature of Arthur Casas Studio with an initial project conception coauthored by the American architect Chad Oppehnheim. The contemporary architecture of the building, located in front of Copacabana beach, gives priority to natural light, valorizes the view and connects the guests to the Marvelous city. To meet the client’s expectations established in their briefing asking for a project that could satisfy the standards of a five-star hotel whose ground floor could be enjoyed by clients who were or were not guests, a bar was installed right at the entrance. Then, the flow of people was redirected in two different ways: one takes to the restaurant... More

Comfort and building maintenance throughout the years are two fundamental aspects for houses built in tropical areas next to the sea, where the high temperatures and the effect of the sea air determine the extreme local conditions. The White House project, located on a beautiful Brazilian beach, on the northern coast of São Paulo, made these questions as determinant to organize the plan and for the selection of materials to be used. All of the ambients have floor-ceiling window frames - in the spans, like true walls of sliding glass – to create a pleasant thermal sensation and blur the division between interior and exterior. In the living room on the ground floor, for example, 3.0 X 2.5 glass doors are built into the walls and integrate... More