A modernist São Paulo apartment finds a new lease of life

When Bloco Arquitetos was called upon for a modernist São Paulo apartment renovation, the practice jumped at the opportunity. Based in Brasília, the studio was founded by Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho and Matheus Seco. As well as designing sleek pieces of contemporary architecture such as the Casa do Tijolos Brancos, the trio has a keen interest in the history and legacy of their home town, and their country's acclaimed architectural heritage.

So it’s no surprise the team found appeal in the historic 230 sq m apartment in the Higienópolis district of the Brazilian metropolis, an upmarket area rich in architectural treasures, from shining examples of paulistano art deco designs to modernist tower blocks.

Tour this revived modernist São Paulo apartment

The apartment in question is situated in a building by modernist architecture representative Rubens Camargo de Monteiro, a tower block located just around the corner from the Museu de Arte Brasileira, itself full of midcentury treasures. The property had a handful of striking original features, including a solid ipê wood parquet floor laid in a double herringbone pattern, which the team preserved and restored.

'Rubens de Monteiro worked in São Paulo during the 1950s and 1960s,' explain the architects. 'His Cuiabá building, where this apartment is located, was completed in the early 1960s in Higienópolis. He was also part of the team of architects that were involved in the construction of one of Oscar Niemeyer's most important works in São Paulo, the OCA exhibition hall at the Ibirapuera Park. He was one of the partners of the construction company that built it.'

The architects also peeled back some of the layers accumulated over the years: the plaster on the perimeter walls was removed to expose the original solid brick, while a thin concrete ceiling was carefully taken down to reveal a series of structural beams that were incorporated into the interior design.

‘Undoubtedly, the ceiling is our favourite element in this project,' say the architects. 'The beautiful structure was originally hidden by a thin layer of concrete that had no structural function. It worked like a suspended ceiling. We removed the thin slab so we could expose the beautiful sequence of parallel beams that form the ceiling structure.'

Having capitalised on the property’s original features, the architects then focused on rethinking the existing layout to accommodate contemporary family life. The key element of their brief included increasing the reception space and better connecting the kitchen with the dining room.

To do so they reconfigured the original, compartmentalised layout, which had a pantry between the kitchen and the living room, a small service bathroom, a single suite, and a central vestibule. The architects removed the pantry to create a TV room and larger kitchen, connected to the dining room by sliding doors and complete with new terrazzo flooring. They also created a larger suite by combining two existing bedrooms.

The new interiors were furnished with the owner’s existing collection of contemporary art and Brazilian design, including ‘Mole’ and ‘Oscar’ armchairs and the ‘Mocho’ bench by Sérgio Rodrigues; the ‘Jangada’ armchair by Jean Gillon; and the ‘Pétala’ coffee table and ‘Onda’ bench designed by Jorge Zalszupin.

These were combined with newly acquired pieces, such as a ‘Geometric’ dining table and ‘Composé’ sofa by Cremme, ‘Moss’ dining chairs by Punto Mobile, and an ‘Icon’ shelf by Jader Almeida.

Although Bloco Arquitetos is based in Brasília, Brazil's modernist capital, it is expanding its operations to other cities and abroad. 'We are currently finishing a house in Bahia, Brazil, which was entirely designed using glued laminated wood structure,' say the trio. 'At the same time, we have finished a house project in New Jersey, USA, and we are currently developing a house in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. We mainly work on residential projects, but we have also finished the interior design of a Hilton hotel in the state of São Paulo and some office spaces in São Paulo city itself.'

bloco.arq.br