Step into Flavio Castro's multi-tasking Brazilian apartment

Brazilian architect Flavio Castro led the creative redesign of an apartment interior in Sao Paulo's fashionable Vila Olimpia neighbourhood.

(Image credit: Manu Oristanio)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 22 August 2022

in Features

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.

The most of the available space. — Castro's main goal was to make the most of the available space.

A series of ‘hybrid and mobile furniture — In order to achieve this, he worked with a series of ‘hybrid and mobile furniture’.

The architect created several bespoke, multi-tasking pieces that can serve different uses.

The laundry and hob. — For example the kitchen cabinetry hides elements, such as the laundry and hob.

The kitchen cabinetry's bright green hue. — The material palette was kept simple, using only a few colour accents, such as the kitchen cabinetry's bright green hue.

The apartment’s rear, ensuring privacy when needed. — The bedrooms are tucked away at the apartment’s rear, ensuring privacy when needed.

INFORMATION

For more information visit Flavio Castro’s website

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).