Apartment with vibrant décor in an iconic building in São Paulo | Open House with Sandra Rodrygues

Photos: Denilson Machado, MCA Estudio / Disclosure

This is the first Open House I recorded on Av. São Luís, downtown São Paulo, and I mightn’t have chosen a more iconic building than the Louve Building for the premiere! I’m talking regarding Sandra Rodrygues’ apartment, designed by Pílula Antropofágik Arquitetura.

The building was designed by architect João Artacho Jurado in the 1950s and has been listed since 1992 by Conpresp (Municipal Council for Heritage Preservation). As soon as she bought the apartment, Sandra called the duo Richard de Mattos and Maria Clara Carvalho to plan and carry out a total renovation of its 120m².

The result is extremely colorful and unusual! Carioca, this bohemian side of the resident can be felt in various parts of the decoration, in addition to the mixture of cultures promoted by the various furniture and pieces purchased in antique shops throughout Brazil.

For these and other reasons, this week’s Open House is with her, Sandra Rodrygues! I invite you to a complete tour of the apartment, showing every corner in the smallest detail and how the iconic building in which it is located influenced its interior. Already here on the blog, a conversation with the architects of Pílula Antropofágik Arquitetura regarding the project.

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Casa de Valentina: What was the biggest challenge right away?

Pilula Architecture: As this was Pílula’s first project in São Paulo, our biggest challenge was to find good partnerships to carry out the work.

CV: And what were Sandra’s requests?

Pill Architecture: The client loves to enjoy her freedom and receive friends; therefore, it was her wish that the kitchen be integrated with the living room, maintaining the possibility of division, and that the bathroom be comfortable and well lit, with a bathtub and separate shower. For this, we incorporated part of the service area into the bathroom, making room for the hydromassage bathtub. Between the living room and the kitchen, a panel in solid pink peroba, mined during demolition, was installed.

CV: About the furniture, did you bring many suggestions?

Pilula Arquitetura: She already had very interesting furniture and ornaments, acquired over the years and that clearly told her life story. This ended up being the starting point for a cool and colorful project, which spoke to those objects that brought a lot of their history.

CV: Was the bookcase already in the project when you arrived?

Pilula Arquitetura: The black bookcase resting on concrete bricks actually worked in isolation and in a vertical position in the former residence. This new arrangement served to expose the pieces of adornment that are part of the client’s collection.

CV: Why did you choose the painting “Toada”, by João Fasino, for the wall above the sofa?

Pill Architecture: The artist takes many car trips along Brazilian roads and this ends up being a striking feature of his creative process. This work, for example, was created from the displacement to the region of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul and builds a ‘tropical’ image from clichés, approaching a discussion regarding the popular idealization of what would be local. He was the inspiration to paint all the walls in the room in the same shade of blue, bringing the feeling of warmth to this environment.”