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Architect João Completo used a limited material palette in the house he designed for his parents, a choice he appreciates in many homes featured in Dwell. Birch plywood and concrete are featured throughout. “The language is very coherent in every space, which gives it a sense of fluidity,” Completo says. “It feels a bit bigger than it is because the materials are the same everywhere.”

An upstairs office features built-in millwork and a wood-topped desk, with plenty of surface and storage area. A window is carefully placed in front of the desk for natural light and views.

A view from the opposite end.

Natural light permeates the brickwork to illuminate a bedroom.

An opposite view of the living area shows a small dining area in the corner.

A look at the bedroom located next to the kitchen.

The kitchen contains countertops and backsplash in stainless steel, which offers a muted softness to the space. "The stainless steel has a very thin profile, so it continues that theme of delicate, light expression which we wanted for the house,

The bathtub has the best views in the whole house, tucked by the window in the loft underneath the A-frame roof.

The sleeping nook consists of a built-in platform bed on a bank of drawers. In here, the ceiling dips down to create a more intimate space.

“Making the stairs and the kitchen the same color was a challenge, as they are made from different materials by separate manufacturers,” says Guerrera. The kitchen counters and backsplash are laminates from Fenix, and the stairs are painted to match.

The photographers also shot the 93-year-old’s assistant, Alisson Vega Avalos.

Bands of windows and a curved skylight, along with porthole-like openings punched into the concrete walls, allow more natural light into the home.

“When you are photographing architecture, you need to know the theory and the history very well. But at the same time, I like to feel free to picture whatever I notice and whatever seems very important in a space, not only the design pieces,” Martin says. She and Paleari shot the space as they found it, including taking portraits of Maria. “She’s sweet, but very tough,” Martin says of her subject.

The radiant floors are made from black gneiss. Maria writes that Riva chose it because it was inexpensive and, perhaps, the color reminded him of Le Corbusier. “I find that the apartment is a black sea because you have this floor, and it seems very fluid,” says Martin. “It’s a fluid floor that changes with the light.”

Much of the original furniture remains in the home, including wooden bookshelves set into concrete room dividers. “I find the way he resolved the corners with obtuse angles quite beautiful,” writes Maria. “He used the same detail for both the table and the bookcase. The photographers were drawn to the materials in addition to the form of the furnishings. “I love all the materials inside the house, especially those that were used by Riva to create the furniture,” says Francesco Paleari, who with Allegra Martin shot the apartment for the first time in decades for the book.