A São Paulo apartment is all about the swimming pool

Brazilian architect Fernanda Marques’ latest residential projects include this complete renovation of a Sao Paulo apartment

(Image credit: fernandamarques.com.br)

As unlikely as it sounds, Brazilian architect Fernanda Marques has installed a swimming pool in the courtyard of a duplex apartment in São Paulo’s upscale residential neighbourhood of Villa Nova Conceição. The pool may be just one element of her design for the 477 sq m ground and lower ground floor flat in a 1990s block; but it’s a crucial one.

The 10m-long pool takes up 25 sq m of the outside area and is accessed via the stairway in the exterior garden or from the gym on the upper floor. All that water is kept at bay by an 8cm-thick sandwich of glass panels bonded by a high technology structural membrane.

The pool overlooks the living room, which houses some of the owners’ mostly Brazilian art collection. Pieces by Ernesto Neto, Edgard de Souza, Manoel Rio Branco, Zerbini and Tunga are complemented by Marques’ choice of furniture, much of by Brazil’s late, great modernist heroes. The dining table and chairs are by Joaquim Tenreiro; a pair of Jangada armchairs by Jean Gillon – who was originally from Romania – stand near the artworks on the ground floor; and there’s an armchair in the master bedroom by Zanine de Caldas, who had worked with Oscar Niemeyer. Meanwhile the wooden bench on the terrace is by Hugo França, who is still living. Marques’ aim was to keep the interiors relatively simple, to leave room for the collection to be added to.

Despite the artworks, it is the aquamarine water that draws the eye. Marques, whose mostly female team is headquartered in São Paulo, has a track record in magicking luxuriant interiors for residences in her home country, Miami and increasingly Lisbon. She says of the pool: ‘It was intended to be more than a leisure experience, but a poetic presence inside an art collector’s home.’

Interiors at residentials in Brazil — A key element in the redesign was the placing of a swimming pool in the middle of the courtyard

Staircase at a Brazilian residential — The project occupies 477 sq m of the ground and lower-ground floor in a 1990s block in the upscale residential neighbourhood of Villa Nova Conceição

Interiors at Brazil architecture — Strong, 8cm thick glass panels keep the water at bay

Sofa and chairs at the interiors — The pool overlooks the living room, which houses some of the owners’ mostly Brazilian art collection

Dining at a hotel — Marques aimed to keep the interiors relatively simple, to leave room for the owners' art collection to grow

Laptop desk and living room — The generous interior allows for the open plan living spaces and berooms, but also for a private study and library room

Wall paintings in living room — The elegant interior is lit up by large openings that bring the sunshine in

Swimming pool with side bedroom — In most parts of the house, the eye is drawn to the pool, which is the residence's centrepiece; even the bedroom overlooks it

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

website

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Clare Dowdy is a London-based freelance design and architecture journalist who has written for titles including Wallpaper*, BBC, Monocle and the Financial Times. She’s the author of ‘Made In London: From Workshops to Factories’ and co-author of ‘Made in Ibiza: A Journey into the Creative Heart of the White Island’.