Flavio Castro creates a flexible Brazilian apartment interior
This apartment in Sao Paulo’s Vila Olímpia may be strategically placed in one of the city’s most affluent and vibrant neighbourhoods, but it was suffering from too many, small and dark rooms and an overall inefficient use of space. When the owners, two brothers, decided it was time for a refresh, they called upon local architect Flavio Castro, to embark on a complete redesign of their home’s interior.
Castro’s main goal was to make the most of the available surface. The unit may measure a mere 60 sq m, but this clever interior design allows the rooms to breathe and creates the impression of light and spaciousness. By planning an integrated design that unites in a generous open plan living space, the main sitting room, TV room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, balcony and office, Castro spearheaded a full rethink of the brothers’ way of living.
The secret is in creating a series of ‘hybrid and mobile furniture’, explains the architect. Here, pieces of furniture can flexibly alternate uses, while bespoke cabinetry hides services (such as the laundry space) and further functions (such as the kitchen hob). So the multi-functional room can easily and seamlessly adapt to different possible scenarios and stages of daily life.
Using a simple material palette, Castro employs colour accents, such as the kitchen cabinetry’s vibrant green, to create the home’s playful interior style. Offsetting the communal and multifaceted character of the main living space, the two brothers’ bedrooms are tucked away at the apartment’s rear, ensuring privacy when needed.
INFORMATION
For more information visit Flavio Castro’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Discover Acqua di Parma’s new Mandarino di Sicilia fragrance at Milan Design Week 2024
Acqua di Parma and Fornice Objects bring the splendour of Sicilian mandarin fields to Milan to celebrate new fragrance Mandarino di Sicilia
By Simon Mills Published
-
First look at Samba Room, London’s innovative cocktail lounge packed with Brazilian energy
London’s Samba Room, an extension of SushiSamba, is a dynamic bar, lounge and private dining space designed by Fabled Studio
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Thom Browne shows how to make the perfect bed with theatrical performance at Milan Design Week 2024
American fashion designer Thom Browne makes his Milan Design Week debut with a new homeware collection created in collaboration with historic linen company Frette
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
Marcio Kogan’s Studio MK27 celebrated in this new monograph from Rizzoli
‘The Architecture of Studio MK27. Lights, camera, action’ is a richly illustrated journey through the evolution of this famed Brazilian architecture studio
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Brazil’s Casa Subtração contrasts dramatic concrete brutalism with openness
Casa Subtração by FGMF is defined by brutalist concrete and sharp angles that contrast with the green Brazilian landscape
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Arthur Casas’ Pacaembu House wins Best Urban Bolthole in Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024
Pacaembu House by Arthur Casas is a São Paulo residence that feels like an idyllic escape
By Scott Mitchem Published
-
This Brazilian house uses concrete and wood to screen a sleek horizontal living space
The Brazilian house in Minas Gerais by Tetro Arquitetura is designed to elevate and simplify the art of one-level living
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mario Cucinella's Nice headquarters in Brazil offers a bioclimatic take on industrial architecture
Comprising a manufacturing base and R&D Centre, the Nice headquarters in Brazil by Mario Cucinella Architects hail a new era for the company
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Casa Boa Vista is a Brazilian home that opens up to its natural views
Casa Boa Vista by Arthur Casas makes the most of transparencies and natural materials to highlight views and nature in Upstate São Paulo
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Roca São Paulo Gallery’s architecture is a tribute to the Atlantic Forest
Roca São Paulo Gallery designed by architect Fernanda Marques opens in Brazil
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Rúina, Brazil: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
Brazil’s Rúina enters the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published