Located near the office towers of Faria Lima, this 16-storey building has a wide variety of typologies, with 88 units between 25 and 100 square meters. Unprecedented exercise for Studio Arthur Casas, the reduced size of the modules should incorporate values applied to office projects, such as fluidity between spaces and integration with the exterior.
The client wanted a building that would break with the paradigms of the city’s real estate market, accustomed to simplistic solutions of mere application of restrictive laws, when more in small units. The innovative plant was designed from a module of 1.25m x 1.25m, with the rationalization of vertical circulations and shafts. Three typologies were created, then mirrored and distributed according to the plan’s possibilities in the deep and narrow terrain. The result is similar to a combinatorial analysis game of the six modules in five distinct floors, creating great dynamism in the facade.
The monotony of small spaces gave way to the work of adapting the legislation, with generous openings and creative layout solutions, privileging the feeling of fluidity and the contact with the outside. Integrated cabinets and spaces developed diagonally extend the limits of the apartments. As important as the units, support areas extend the use of the inhabitants to the common spaces, with design worked from the bicyclist to the coworking rooms.
The facade in white ACM plates, of varied modulations, emphasizes the apparent randomness of the openings. It is impossible to distinguish the size of the units, transforming the building into a dynamic set of indiscernible modules. The lead base contrasts with the light volume of the building, surrounded by the landscaping of Alex Hanazaki. The result is an architecture that questions the monotony of the context in which it is inserted, integrating values of urban diversity from the few square meters of each unit.
This apartment, located in VN Ferreira Lobo, was thought to meet the profile of a couple or a young person. Being a rental property, it needed to satisfy different possibilities of use, in addition to having as much storage space as possible.
The challenge of the compact and narrow 32m² plan was solved by eliminating the balcony, incorporating it to the apartment with the purpose of gaining space and being able to create integrated environments in a linear way. A continuous line of carpentry has been designed to further optimize the spaces, with different uses – the surface of the dresser extends and transforms itself into a cabinet, desk and kitchen countertop. Thus, it was possible to free up circulation area and bring more amplitude to the apartment, in addition to providing a lot of storage space, as desired by the investor client.
A metal-and-wood shelf separates the bedroom from the living room, which can also be used as an home office or dining room. In addition to ensuring the necessary privacy for the bedroom, the bookcase serves both the living room, as a sofa support, as well as the bedroom, with drawers at the bottom. Fully integrated with the other spaces, the kitchen was lined with light wood flooring.
The lighting of the property is indirect and with only a few points in the ceiling. The services were concentrated in a discreet closet in the access space of the apartment, hiding washing machine and cleaning products in a place without permanence. Despite being a small apartment for rent, materials and solutions were used in order to value the environment, bringing the comfort of a home and escaping from the impersonal aspect of a hotel room.
