JC APARTMENT

Located in Vila Madalena, this 71m² apartment was completely renovated in six months of work. The resident, a young single French-Bolivian, sought the office to accompany him when choosing the property. Careful with his investments, the resident was looking for a well-located apartment, with an open view and potential for renovation.
After some time living and working in São Paulo, in a rented apartment, the resident decided to settle down in the city. As he spends most of the week traveling, he was looking for a place where he could feel at home, with all the comfort. Passionate about wines and gastronomy, it was essential that the space was also designed to receive and cook with friends.

As it is an apartment with reduced footage, the use of spaces was also the starting point for the development of the project. The first step was to level the living room to the terrace, eliminate the frames and create a much wider social area. The second bedroom was integrated into the living room, with joinery doors to close it again when necessary.

A space for a small bar was created on the terrace, taking advantage of the old doorway from the service area to the terrace. With the demolition of a wall in the living room, two large bookcases were created – one of the client's requests – one facing the dining room and the other towards the suite, displacing a wall that divided these environments.

The social part of the 71m² apartment was fully integrated and comprises an American kitchen, dining room, home theater, terrace and bar. A panel in freijo brings description to the doors of the bathroom and master suite. The small service area also serves as a technical area for air conditioning equipment.

To give the spaces a feeling of greater amplitude, a plaster ceiling was executed only where it was necessary for the passage of the electrical infrastructure. The replacement of common doors for sliding and pivoting doors, disguised in the panels, also helped to give the spaces a feeling of greater amplitude.

The bookcase with a porcelain bottom is the first view of anyone who enters the apartment and creates an interesting background for the dining table and chairs, of Brazilian design. The porcelain floor that resembles granilite delimits the kitchen space. The Provençal-style furniture -a customer's request- is contoured by geometric ceramics in shades of blue, creating a playful environment that brings back affective memories of kitchens. One of the design concepts was that the room should not turn to a television. The sofa with movable backrests brings several possibilities of use to the space and can also serve as a sofa bed.

The wooden floor extends to the terrace, expanding the living area. The vertical garden, with an automated irrigation system, brought convenience to customers who travel a lot. The view from the terrace was enhanced by positioning the sofa on its side, which also allowed fluid circulation between the kitchen, bar and outdoor seating. In the bathroom, with a black travertine countertop and black metal towel rack, the idea was to create a bathroom that could accommodate guests, but with the appearance of a bathroom. There is a cumaru deck in the box area.

In the suite, the freijó panel turns gray to make the room appear larger. Due to the small dimensions of the space, plaster lining was not executed. The headboard in freijó, high and built into the joinery, also gives the room a feeling of greater amplitude. The small terrace was integrated into the bedroom, creating a space for reading with a bench.

The main challenge was to include the different references and requests brought by the client in the project, creating a single visual language. The choice of colors and materials, which are repeated in all the details, visually unifies the elements of the project. An example of this is the Provençal-style blue kitchen - a request from the client and which refers to the times he lived outside Brazil - which dialogues with the rest of the furniture, in a more modern style, also in shades of blue.

The project has an urban and modern style that relates to the practical and dynamic life of its resident. The project transits between elements that can be considered timeless – such as straight lines, the solution for doors and panels, materials and colors – and more modern ones related to trends, such as details in black metal and current national design furniture.

The shades of gray form the basis for the customer's favorite color: blue. The architecture office opted for more closed tones of this color, so that they could use them in different details, without creating a visually polluted environment. The cold tones are warmed up by the details in freijó wood, which bring warmth to the space.

Because we installed wooden flooring on the terrace – a material with low heat conduction – the apartment maintains a more stable internal temperature during all periods of the day, whether in summer or winter. By removing the original frames that isolated the terraces, the apartment has become much more ventilated. The vertical garden complements the project with a biophilic touch, bringing more comfort to the space.