Vaporwave was formed in the early 2010s from a desire to recapture the distinctive style and lo-fi technologies of previous decades like the 80s and 90s. Today, the trend champions cyberpunk spin-offs and electronica excesses of all kinds — and all of these influences have been tastefully worked into Mombá Arquitetura’s FM House.

A mashup of contemporary touches and throwback themes dominates the over 750-square-foot residence, where original features like while tile and granite floors co-exist with bright pops of color and futuristic furniture finds. Sharp angles are tempered by soft walls, and bold colors are given texture by plush textiles.

The kitchen highlights the space’s desire to accommodate both vaporwave and contemporary styles, with its vivid blue cabinetry and bright white tile backsplash. Plant life softens the scene and complements the room’s angular lines perfectly, while geometric shapes abound in every available nook and cranny. A mostly open plan creates the illusion of space in the house, while the middle wall sets a boundary between the kitchen and living area. A tucked away dining space completes the scene, itself hosting a similar mix of contemporary and vintage accents.

A blocky, angular sofa further creates a separation of space between the office and living area for a refined update of the increasingly popular mashup of home and office life making its way into modern living spaces. The couch’s graphic patten immediately draws the eye, and makes the perfect complement to the bold black and white rug on the floor.

The bedroom is another study in contrasts, featuring a muted pink wall as the backdrop for even stronger patterns and bolder colors. Hip light fixtures and a tucked away plant are welcome accents in this cozy space that’s as trendy as it is comfortable.

The perfect embodiment of the nostalgic vaporwave trend, Mombá Arquitetura’s FM House is a study in contrasts. Like the trend itself, it relies heavily on iconoclastic pairings that are full of texture and depth. Bursting with technicolor ferocity and tempered by soft, homey touches, this Brazilian masterpiece is yet another example of the design duo’s penchant for pushing the aesthetic envelope.

The post Mombá Arquitetura’s FM House Brings Vaporwave to the Modern Living Space first appeared on Dornob.

The original Subterranean Tropicália Projects would have been a massive multi-level structure with an almost maze-like interior where visitors “discover” works of art by Oiticica and other artists and have interactions with each other. Unfortunately, garnering financial support and permits from the city for such a large installation proved out of reach. PN15 reworks the project as a 40-foot-diameter circular structure of curving corridors offering visitors a multi-sensory experience full of plants and projected images. Throughout its run, the installation will also be a stage for interactive performances and workshops by Brazilian and queer artists.

The installation marks the first time an outdoor work by Oiticica will be displayed in the United States. The project is able to move forward thanks to the Americas Society, which acts as a connector for Latin American artists in New York through grants and exhibitions. A cardboard maquette for the original design and sketches for the two modified versions (PN14 and PN15) went on display in Part I of the Americas Society’s “This Must Be the Place: Latin American Artists in New York, 1965-1975.” Part I closed in December, and Part II ran through May 21st.

“This is an artwork that is as radical now as it was in the 70s,” Aimé Iglesias Lukin, Director and Chief Curator of Visual Arts at the Americas Society, told ARTnews. “This is an artwork that is free, has public access, and is inviting them to participate and is engaging with them. We don’t have enough of that.”

According to Iglesias Lukin, the exhibition offers a “re-reading of 1960s and 70s American art through the lens of immigrants, in this case Latin American immigrants. We need to start questioning to which degree New York became the cosmopolitan center that it is without immigrants. How do you explain the neo avant-garde without all the artists who came from all over Europe, Latin America, and Asia?”

Oiticica first envisioned the work for display at Central Park, but as Iglesias Lukin notes, the Central Park of today is very different than it was in the 1970s. Installed within Socrates Sculpture Park, it will have more of the impact Oiticica imagined, seen and experienced mostly by everyday working class New Yorkers rather than tourists and wealthy Manhattanites. The park is a place where local residents hang out, play basketball, go on runs, and walk their dogs. Oiticica wanted Subterranean Tropicália Projects to foster “creleisure,” a term he coined for creative-leisure, offering a space for both planned and spontaneous performances.

The post After 51 Years, Hélio Oiticica’s Sculptural Vision Finally Comes to Life in NYC first appeared on Dornob.

As Buckminster Fuller himself explained, the tetrahedron represents “the minimum system of the Universe, and it turned out to be, then, omni-triangulated and we found that structures are always triangulated. Structure meant triangle and triangle meant structure, there were no other stable polygons. Therefore, the tetrahedron turned out to be the minimum structural system of the Universe.”

The tetrahedron is Fuller’s model of the simplest three-dimensional geometric system that can be used as the basis for other shapes, like his famous geodesic domes. He called this “cosmic logic of the structural mathematics strategies of nature,” which he spent much of his life studying and defining under the name “Synergetics.” In the case of Bow House, the tetrahedron helps to create a stable base for the cabin, takes full advantage of the small plot of land, and gives it an interesting silhouette.

“Casa Proa (Bow House in portugues) was designed by Atelier Marko Brajovic by a creative process inspired in triangular modulations on different scales and a tree house typology,” the architects say. “The 6x6x6 meters of equilateral triangular volume was installed at Praia do Rosa beach in Paraty (Brazil), located between a Mango tree, the traditional colonial house, and a major rock on steep waterfront terrain. The triangular geometry redundancy on the floor plan and section, as well on the tetrahedron roof system, promotes both structural and perceptive strategy. The architecture organizes a compact living space modulated in further sub-triangles and creates a visual pattern as much in the space and finishings.”

The architects also drew inspiration from traditional South American treehouses in designing this dreamy beach retreat. Though the cabin is on stilts rather than getting its load-bearing support from the surrounding trees, its perch on the slope just above vegetation like tropical flowers and palm trees creates a similar effect.

The main sleeping room is in the center of the cabin, looking straight out from the “prow” toward the ocean. The kitchen is tucked behind it, and in the two triangle points on either side are an entrance and a bathroom. The edge of the wraparound terrace serves as one big bench, so you can sit anywhere you like and look out at the forest, the water, or the hills on the other side.

Furniture custom-designed specifically for Bow House fills the interiors, including curtains made out of local shrimp fishing nets and wall lamps made of traditional bronze boat drains. It’s details like these that make it feel like a one of a kind getaway infused with the flavor of its unique Costa Verde location.

The post Tetrahedron Treehouse Peeks Out of the Trees Like the Prow of a Ship first appeared on Dornob.

The studio has been based in Rio since 2012, and they create projects all over the world — all with distinctive shapes, angles, features, and effusive touches of natural beauty scattered throughout. Past examples include the Residential Lagoon Corner in South Carolina, and the gorgeous Atlantico Building in Brazil, whose natural materials mirror its tropical, lush surroundings while complementing and enhancing “the vibrations of the [surrounding] boardwalk and beach.”

And this 2018 creation in a long line of stunning wonders is no exception. Located in Rio, the “Asa House” sits atop a hill as if it’s meant to take flight, with its unique, swooping roof curving like a bird’s wing (‘asa’ means ‘wing’ in Portuguese).

The house’s feeling of impending flight is further accentuated by its exterior design. The lower level is partially submerged, sunken below the main level that offers perfect panoramas of the lush surrounding area. With this design, Bernardes Arquitetura once again has created a signature classic worthy of the firm’s impressive resumé. The team quite accurately describes the project as “[creating] a ‘harmoniously contrasting’ relationship between landscape and architecture…”

The impressive exterior of Asa House seamlessly leads visitors to a dynamic glass-enclosed foyer on the home’s sunken lower level, where they are greeted by a large open space dominated by an angled wooden stairway. The effect is dramatic, as the staircase’s shape perfectly mirrors the open space in the ceiling above, letting in light and creating the illusion of even more space.

The main areas of the home “[resemble] a pavilion as seen from the garden,” according to Bernardes Arquitetura. That is, because of the home’s lozenge-like exterior shape, singular curved roof, and sunken appearance from afar, it appears almost as if it’s rising out of the surrounding landscape without dominating or overwhelming it.

The interior too was designed and laid out to take full advantage of the home’s verdant surroundings. Some of its most impressive features include large, front-facing glass doors cleverly concealed within the walls until ready to use; an owner’s suite contained within a separate volume of the house, replete with its own unique forest views; and thin, granite slats that cover the windows, offering privacy without detracting from the world outside.

The granite is perfectly complemented by the native Brazilian wood that forms the main volume of the house, all topped with the smooth, winged wonder that is the dynamic curved roof. Visible from inside the living spaces, as well as from the outside, the curvature doubles as “environmental protection to living and dining areas,” according to the designers.

Surrounded by lush gardens filled with native flora artfully designed by Isabel Duprat, herself a well-known Brazilian landscape architect, Asa House is just the latest example of the creative prowess and artful imagination of Brazilian architectural firm Bernardes Arquitetura, who has once again created a “harmonious contrast” between landscape and architecture that sparks the imagination.

The post Asa House: A Winged Roof Gives This Rio de Janeiro Home the Feeling of Flight first appeared on Dornob.

The hotel was a popular place to stay in its day, set within the historic city center close to the Matriz Plaza and the Public Market. But in recent years, demand for small, affordable apartments has grown so much, it only made sense for the owners to renovate it into a “co-living building,” where residents enjoy both their own private spaces and larger communal areas, making the sacrifice of personal space worthwhile.

The owner of this particular unit wanted a space that was somewhere in between permanent and temporary lodging. He commissioned the architects to create a “bed and breakfast” feel in an apartment that can either be rented out Airbnb-style or eventually used as a full-time home. Adding yet another layer of difficulty to the project is the fact that the apartment is oddly shaped. A bed, living area, kitchen, bathroom, and storage all had to be packed into its tiny 30-square-meter footprint.

The angled exterior wall, which features lots of windows overlooking the city, informed the bulk of the design. The architects created a large bank of floor-to-ceiling built in storage following the same angle. Painted white to match the other walls and ceiling and complement the textural parquet wood floors, this massive closet nixes clutter, and it’s really what makes the whole thing possible.

“The search for parallel lines resulted in the project’s concept,” the firm explains. “A large closet, which is summarized in a multifunctional white volume, hides the plan’s ‘zigzag’ and includes a bathroom, kitchen, as well as space for clothes and groceries. In line with this volume, the lighting, in a smooth industrial black profile and directional spots, accompanies the main flow of the apartment, drawing an ‘L’ and illuminating the way.”

“The shelves to the right of the front door contain the television, plants, books, and decorative objects. The window, which faces the street and the front facade of the building, was supplied by a wooden ‘frame,’ which finishes the peeled walls and a curtain with a shelf accompanying the entire wall of the window. This shelf was designed to accommodate plants, which would bring a little green into the house, since the view from the window is predominated by the concrete jungle of Porto Alegre’s historic center.”

This apartment is a great example of how built-in storage can completely transform even the smallest apartments into livable environments. The added open shelving creates a nice focal point, and the plant shelf above the windows brings in some color and vitality. A simple room divider screen could even be used to create a little extra privacy and separation between the work and sleep areas without cutting off the flow of air and light, if you so desired.

The post Hotel Room Transformed Into an Ultra-Compact Apartment in Brazil first appeared on Dornob.

That title may be a bit of a misnomer, though. While still a great ride, no actual flight is involved here. Rather, the campaign features a broom-topped device that can be attached to an electric unicycle. The witch or wizard can then straddle the broom and “take off” by leaning forward to accelerate and “land” by leaning backward to brake. Similarly, inclining to either side will produce a turn. Still, with many unicycles today reaching up to 20 miles per hour, the “real flying broom” can be said to provide a near-airborne experience.

The carbon steel frame — measuring 20 inches long by 17 inches tall — can be connected or detached to a not-included electric unicycle (the one in the Kickstarter videos is an Inmotion V8) using metals rods and screws. Topped with a bicycle seat, a broom in one of four choices — the Numen 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, or 2.2 — is then mounted to the device. The sweeper and seat can also be removed from the frame for easier transport.

In fact, the very Hogwarts-like Nuvem brooms — available in silver, black, light, or dark wood − can be purchased individually for mixing and matching or for those more imaginative Quidditch cosplay matches.

Brazilian designer Silveira, himself a graduate in digital game design, says he was inspired “by universes that make our lives more magical” to create something that “could create the feeling of flying on a magic broom.” In his Kickstarter bio, he describes himself as an “inventor, marital artist, singer, and content creator.” He also proudly declares himself to be “enthusiastic of the magic and nerd culture.”

The whole campaign keeps the tone light-hearted like this, never taking itself too seriously. Among the FAQs on the Kickstarter page is the query: “Will it be an experience like in the first Harry Potter movie?,” to which the creator honestly responded, “Well… we guess you can say that, but more like Neville than Harry.”

Should the campaign get off the ground, the real flying broom contraption is predicted to have delivery dates in March 2021. The support frame and broom combo will range in price from $55 to $68, while single brooms will cost between $38 and $45. All products will be manufactured and shipped from Brazil.

Each Kickstarter contributor will also receive a Nuvem t-shirt, two pins with the company logo, a broom-carrying belt, and a signed certificate from the CEO. If the goal is exceeded, the designer hopes to offer upgrades like more-comfortable curved edges on the metal frames and an extendable height to fit more unicycle models.

At time of writing this article, there were seven days left of the campaign with only $807 having been pledged toward the $11,260 goal. With so few backers, the actual product may not be arriving any time soon, but who knows? The dream of wizard flight might just live on and inspire a new wave of magical inventors.

The post “The Real Flying Broom” Takes Harry Potter Cosplay to the Next Level first appeared on Dornob.

There’s certainly no need for cemeteries to be morbid. They could be pleasant to visit, or even joyful. They could help us honor the lives of our loved ones while reminding us that we are still alive. One such place is the Memorial Cemetery Parque das Cerejeiras in Jardim Angela, Brazil. Designed by Crisa Santos Arquitectos, the cemetery strikes alternately peaceful and playful tones by combining spaces of quiet reflection with bold, sculptural elements in dialogue with the surrounding park.

Lead architect Crisa Santos worked with spiritual leaders, psychiatrists, psychologists, and geriatricians to gain a deeper understanding of the grieving process, aiming to support and care for people in mourning. Drawing on extensive research conducted by the Union of Cemeteries and Private Crematoriums of Brazil, which has polled people in mourning on what they needed most, Santos created an interactive space where people can “live in their grief in its entirety, and as lightly as possible.”

That research resulted in a space that emphasizes connections to sacred spaces, ascent to the heavens, rising souls, and a sense of being rooted in nature. It starts with the Parque de Cerejeiras entrance, a parametric structure made of wood that, according to the architect, “refers to the movement of a flight to a sacred place.”

The standout element of the cemetery is its most symbolic. “Eternity Square” is formed by several sections of steel plates arranged in a spiral, “bringing a narrative that makes an allegory to all phases of life: birth, adolescence, adulthood, generation of children, maturity, and passage.”

The curves represent the chapters of this narrative, slowly unfurling with grass underfoot and the sky overhead. There’s a weight and gravity to it all, but also a lightness that calls to mind the fleeting nature of our time on Earth.

The firm adds that: “Crisa Santos has a unique peculiarity on developing projects focusing on neuroarchitecture, which uses science to create projects that offer sensations and perceptions, causing emotions to users. [It] aims to increase awareness and understanding of the impacts of architecture on the brain and human behavior. An example of this is the Parque das Cerejeiras’ revitalization project, located in Jardim Ângela, South Zone of São Paulo.”

“A reference in the capital of São Paulo, the cemetery, with 300,000 square meters, has architecture embraced by nature in a perfect symbiosis, reframing the contact of human beings with their most instinctive sensations in order to reestablish grief in a more natural way through the practice of biophilia. Using parametric architecture for some structures, in addition to the use of outdoor environments, Crisa Santos designed this complex aimed at the public of the peripheral neighborhoods of the Zul region of São Paulo.”

A lot of thought went into this project, and it shows. Would you prefer to reflect on your deceased loved ones in a space like this, or are you in favor of more traditional cemeteries?

The post Cemetery Park Full of Curves and Spirals Celebrates Our Connection to Nature first appeared on Dornob.

A family looking for a luxurious contemporary beach house did just that, but the building site was incredibly narrow. They turned to Brazilian firm Mareines Arquitetura to find a creative solution that would satisfy all their desires, and then some. What the firm produced is truly spectacular: a sculptural residence they call “Wave House.”

Set on a “granite monolith” between the busy neighborhoods of São Conrado and Barra da Tijuca, the home is built to the very edges of the plot, getting what might be a little uncomfortably close for the neighbors on either side. The architects focused the bulk of their attention on the back end of the house, which faces the water. And as you can see, a big part of their vision includes one of the most unusual roof designs we’ve ever seen.

There are virtually no straight lines to be found on this roof. It’s as if the architects took an ordinary roof, sliced it up into long ribbons, and re-assembled it in a slightly messy way, with some pieces twisting slightly to the side, curling on the ends, or billowing up like fabric sails. The textile-like quality is intentional, as Mareines Arquitetura wanted the home to feel a bit like a ship.

The firm adds that “there are no traces of land to either sides of the house. Just the sky, the sea, and waves splashing against the rocks beneath. An undulating roof evokes the marine movement and creates operable glass openings that will control the admittance of light and air through automation. Different wind directions, sun angles, and temperatures will determine necessary adjustments to guarantee thermal comfort in a passive way.”

“The inspiration: it is like the house was a ship seeking for the horizon line. And these waves were the inspiration to the undulating design for the roof that protects the house from Rio’s inclement sun. The plot where we should design the house has [the] exceptional quality of facing the ocean in the middle of Rio de Janeiro. More precisely 180 feet above sea level, over a steep granite monolith that faces south. This orientation only provides views towards the sea.”

Inside, four stepped levels interact with each other through open spaces that stretch the full height of the home, glass safety railings, and floating staircases, all the better to see out through zig-zagging panels of glass that open to the yard in nice weather. The unconventional shape of the roof defines the interiors as well, acting like an oversized sculptural element overhead.

The access floor contains the kitchen, service areas, dining and living rooms, with guest bedrooms, a TV room, and employees’ bedrooms located just above. The open-plan living space spills out into a grassy terrace adjacent to a curved infinity pool that visually blends into the bay. On the lowest level, beneath the pool, are three private suites facing the ocean, as well as a library, kids’ room, and family room.

The post Wave House: The Sculptural Brazilian Beach House with a Billowing Wooden Roof first appeared on Dornob.

Each tire is uniquely hand-painted with a different design and has holes cut into its sides for handles. The dog’s name then gets painted on the outside of the bed for a lovable personalized touch. Of course, the beds are not just for dogs, as some of the local cats have also been using them to take naps in. Silva has also been experimenting with other ways to utilize these tires, thus far crafting a series of quirky flower beds, succulent planters, and even a tire Christmas tree! Even more recently, he created four recycling bins out of them and a set of bright cushioned futons for human use.

After acquiring the tires, Silva washes, cuts, and paints them, using spray paint and stencils to create the quirky patterns and pet names that adorn the outsides. He then uses a sewing machine to stitch together the fabrics he uses for the bedding and pillows, ensuring his furry patrons quality comfort. Unfortunately, many of the strays that Silva and his friends find are not in great health and require immediate medical attention, but the team does their best to bathe the animals and nurse them back their energetic, adorable selves.

Silva’s designs have stormed the internet in recent months, his Instagram feed filling with motivational messages and praises from the 20,000-plus people who admire his heart and imagination. He’s also taken a public stance on his desire to eradicate unnecessary violence in Brazil, captioning one of his posts: “The Brazil that I want is a Brazil with less violence and more work. I’m not making an apology for crime, quite the contrary. Do as I do. Instead of a weapon, put a tool in your hand and go fix your life. Who knows, it might even change the reality of our Brazil.”

The craftsman says that he always enjoyed DIY projects and was looking for a way to reduce waste in the streets of Brazil while simultaneously funding his own lifestyle. To this day, Silva continues to run his upcycling business from his own backyard, bringing joy to the streets of Campina Grande as much as he can. Silva hopes that his upcycled dog beds will have a fruitful future in inspiring other positive impact products that contribute to a more sustainable way of living.

What an inspiring and incredible journey!

The post Brazilian Craftsman Upcycles Old Tires into Dog Beds for Local Strays first appeared on Dornob.

That’s especially true when your environment is as beautiful as this lush hilltop in Granja Viana, Brazil. Relatively speaking, the clients had a limited amount of money to work with when they commissioned to design a home for their steeply-sloped building site. The plot has stunning views of the horizon, but the clients couldn’t afford the highly reinforced style of house typically built for similar hillside locations. The architects had to think creatively to come up with a solution that would satisfy their budgetary constraints without turning to forms that would limit their enjoyment of the setting.

With retaining walls out of the question, the architects turned to a novel approach: inverting the whole house. Rather than building up from the access point at the roadside, reinforcing the slope, and supporting the home with pillars, they built down, resting the home at the site’s lowest possible point. That means the driveway is flush with the home’s roof, allowing it to be used as a spacious terrace with unobstructed views. To access the home, you cross a bridge-like walkway and descend a staircase to the top floor, which itself hosts an open-plan living room.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing in this area opens right onto a second terrace overlooking a courtyard-style backyard below. Two additional walkways set on the roofs of the lower wings extend to the back edge of the site, offering another level of elevated outdoor space for lots of sun exposure and ideal observation of the sunset. By contrast, the sheltered ground floor courtyard is shady and private, protected from the gaze of neighboring houses.

“Descending to the intermediate floor of the residence at the end of the staircase is the library. On this floor, we created a plateau to make a winter garden that can also be admired from the floor of the room and serves as an entrance of lighting and ventilation to the environments that surround it,” say the architects. “Soon after passing through the library, one can have access to the intimate corridor, where the three dormitories of the residence are, all with views to the west.”

From there, you can descend yet another level to the bottom floor music room, which itself is shaded by the projection of the bedrooms above. The house is primarily made of low-cost cement blocks, which remain apparent in the finished structure, along with mixed metals, porcelain tile, and cement flooring and hexagonal hydraulic tiles in the kitchen. The wood used for the built-in furniture, ceiling cladding, and decking is cumaru and cedrinho, both of which are local Brazilian species.

 “RD House” isn’t exactly low-income housing; it’s still a luxury residence, albeit one built a bit more frugally than usual. But it does offer an example of how architects could make simpler budget-conscious structures that cut costs while prioritizing three of the factors that can help housing feel much more comfortable and livable: views, daylight, and fresh air. Flat-roofed cement block houses at all price points could easily be modified to offer rooftop terraces, courtyards, and more generous openings to the outdoors, even in humbler neighborhoods.

The post Views Abound at the Terraced Modern RD House in Brazil first appeared on Dornob.

The school’s setting is a particularly harsh one in terms of weather. In an interview with CNN, the architects remarked that its exposed savannah has two seasons: summer and hell. It’s intensely hot for much of the year, and the summertime often brings torrential rain. Still, the building needed to be both low-energy and comfortable, so the firm created thick insulating walls out of local soil — formed into bricks and sun-dried on site — and covered the entire facility with a thin metal roof, leaving many of the interior spaces open to the breeze.

The Children’s Village boarding school was envisioned as a “small city” set around three courtyards, containing play areas, medical facilities, and separate living quarters for 540 boys and girls alongside its educational spaces. Commissioned by the Bradesco Foundation, it’s one of forty schools currently providing education to underserved communities in Brazil. Many of the children’s parents live nearby on a large farm also owned by the foundation, which accommodates farm workers and teachers and has its own hospital.

Much of the school was prefabricated and transported in pieces to be assembled on location. The streamlined timber roof canopy is made of local eucalyptus wood, as are many of the school’s elevated walkways. The architects made use of many materials and techniques particular to the region, but they felt strongly that the school should transcend local vernacular architecture to offer something entirely new. The result nods to “indigenous beauty” but prioritizes a sense of hope and belonging, offering an overall high quality of life. Amenities on site include a TV room, reading spaces, patios, balconies, and hammocks.

“There are large openings above three beautifully landscaped courtyard gardens, which are lined by the dormitories,” reads RIBA’s official website. “Each has beds for six children and is distinguished by a uniquely patterned door panel. Internally, the furniture has been specially designed, and every room has toilets, shower rooms, and a laundry, which is ventilated using perforated brickwork, handmade on site.”

“The roof tilts from West to East, allowing space for first floor accommodation above the dormitories to the West and in the center, and is cleverly drained using pairs of colored rain water pipes. To the West a series of sculptural timber stairs rise to the upper level with its generous walkways and balconies, giving views across the site and over the courtyards. This open air space is for recreational use and inhabited [by] furniture and a stage. Slatted timber screens define three enclosed spaces. One is a study room with a large work table, whilst the others are used for relaxing and watching television.”

Children’s Village is modern yet approachable, and the fact that it won the RIBA prize despite its modesty points toward emerging changes in the way people value architecture. In the end, its meaning to the community around it is more important than any flashy design features.

The post Groundbreaking “Children’s Village” School in Brazil Met with International Acclaim first appeared on Dornob.

SOLO Arquitetos, an architecture firm based in Curitiba, Brazil, was founded in 2015 by six architects who had previously collaborated on independent projects for architectural competitions. Most recently, they designed and built a new studio for themselves, reflecting their consummate creativity in a space that perfectly combines comfort, practicality, and tranquility.

The Perfect Palette

Equipped with a set of impressive floor-to-ceiling windows, this fourth-story studio is constantly being washed in natural light, simultaneously soaking in views of the charming tree-lined street below. Simple plywood shelves serve as room dividers, with several openings being left in them to promote the open exchange of ideas and basic communication. Window frames and other décor accents are painted yellow and green to enhance the space’s natural brightness.

From the onset of the project, the architects knew that they wanted to respect the unit’s original design while working in a few of their own touches to reflect a gentle, natural sense of coziness. A spokesperson for the group explains: “In a sense, our office is also our home. It is the result of a process, a story, and personal reflection of six young architects.”

Open Space, Open Minds

On a larger scale, the studio consists of a foyer and reception desk, an area for personal workstations, a large meeting room, two restrooms, and a small kitchen. Instead of creating traditional blueprints and specs for the renovation, the SOLO team decided to go with the flow, creating and designing as they went along so as to facilitate the fusion of new ideas and existing components.

The group concurs: “The construction of our space results from several conditioning factors and pleasant coincidences. We did not make a detailed and delimited project for the office, [nor did we] propose any kind of skin between the main spaces in order to propose a wide and free work atmosphere. Even the meeting room is segregated by a dividing and glazed shelf, promoting visual communication between spaces.”

Delectable Details

The design’s appealing character sprung from the studio’s original dark parquet flooring, which itself is made from Brazilian Walnut. It ended up being the perfect complement for the new space’s natural brightness, creating a sense of innate balance all throughout.

Pillars add old world charm to the space while a white brick wall provides the perfect canvas for a sprinkling of framed abstract art. Pendant green lights made of metal hang down from the ceiling in front of this wall to illuminate the work below, reminiscent of the fixtures found in old barns. The green of these lights helps connect the space to both the deep green outdoor foliage outside and the healthy houseplants strategically placed throughout the studio.

Of course, the thing that really offsets all the studio’s design components is the plywood. Unlike more conventional lumber, the light color and variegated grains of the light yet sturdy plywood tie the space together in the drafting tables, storage room under the desks, and shelving units.

The post Sublime Simplicity: SOLO Arquitetos Use Plywood to Transform Their Own Studio first appeared on Dornob.

Today, around half of the plot’s total area has been devoted to a stunning tropical garden. The tree in question can be found near the eastern corner, growing through the timber “waffle ceiling” that covers many of the home’s living areas. The rest of the house is almost as dramatic as this key feature, boasting a lavish outdoor swimming pool and a set of seamless transitions from one open-plan area to the next.

In 1935, Lawrence Perkins and Philip Will founded Perkins + Will in Chicago, Illinois. The firm now has offices in 24 major cities around the world. Above all else, Perkins + Will is committed to designing sustainable buildings that promote the health of the people living and working in and around them. When President Donald Trump recently decided to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord, CEO Phil Harrison had this to say:

“We at Perkins+Will reaffirm our commitment to design healthy, sustainable places that promote holistic well-being for people and our environment, and our belief that forward-thinking design is fundamental to advancing a competitive economy. This includes planning for and reducing the effects of climate change, because the best design solutions consider the future, making positive contributions and enduring over time.

Today, we are part of a sweeping national coalition of communities, cities, states, NGOs, universities, and corporations that are working together to drive climate action in the United States. These intrepid, progressive entities have committed to accelerating the rate of emissions reduction in the U.S. to the point where we meet our contributions under the Paris Agreement.”

The firm’s Sao Pãulo treehouse is a great example of their forward-thinking design strategies. Plus, it’s just a beautiful piece of architecture to behold. Everyone likes the concept of bringing the outside into their homes, but it’s not every day that one sees it executed on such a grand scale. To avoid harming this sizable tree during the construction process, Perkins + Will created a digital 3-D image of it before doing anything else. That way, its dimensions could easily be worked into their plans.

To build this treehouse home without affecting the surrounding landscape, the impressive timber grid that intersects the tree was also 3-D mapped prior to its construction. It was developed by Perkins + Will in collaboration with the renowned Brazilian engineer Helio Olga. This awning not only shades the home’s outdoor areas, but it also acts as a roof for some of its indoor ones. Crucially, the grid features a single opening that’s bigger than all the others. Why? To leave enough growing room for that massive tree, of course!

The post Tropical “Treehouse” in Sao Pãulo first appeared on Dornob.

A Brazilian woman’s longtime home on the outskirts of São Paulo was on the verge of collapse, its dilapidated condition threatening the structural integrity of two neighboring structures. Since she already owned the property and didn’t want to move away from family and friends who live nearby, her son commissioned Terra e Tuma architects to find a low-budget solution for a comfortable home that fits the existing space.

Carefully demolishing the home without affecting the attached buildings was an arduous process, but once that part was completed, constructing a new residence using almost nothing but concrete and cement blocks took only ten months. The new home, named ‘Vila Matilde’ after the neighborhood in which it’s located, is a minimalist space for a sole occupant with few possessions.

Though the lot is small, the architects managed to fit a one-car parking area, a ground-floor garden and a rooftop terrace into the plan. Generous expanses of glass keep the interior of the home from feeling closed-off and dark, including a wall of windows overlooking the greenery.

A trellis system enables the resident to cover some of the concrete walls within the atrium with additional plants, softening what could otherwise be harsh surfaces and adding visual interest. A small second-floor bedroom looks out onto the city.

“In 2011, a young man reached out to us about the possibility of designing a house for his mother, a person of few belongings, who lived in a house with severe structural and sanitary problems,” say the architects. “Ms. Dalva has lived for decades in Vila Matilde, an outlying neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil. Close to her are cousins, uncles, brothers and friends. The first option would be to sell the house, and with her lifetime savings acquire a small apartment, even further away and most likely without access to an elevator. A troublesome situation, considering her advanced age.”

“Before long, it was glaringly obvious to resist displacement and isolation. To not move away. With this in mind, it was up to us and a network of collaborators to make it work. Once the process commenced, there was no going back and everything had to work until the end. The project’s design and construction work had to be suitable to the family’s constrained finances.”

It looks like Terra e Tuma Architects did a great job of achieving that objective with this low cost concrete house.

The post Low-Cost Concrete Block House in Brazil first appeared on Dornob.

In São Paulo, the vast majority of can recycling is done by individuals called catadores. They collect discarded drink cans in their carts to recycle for money to help support themselves. London-based Studio Swine took to the streets to create a project that would help catadores get much more money for their work.

The duo behind Studio Swine made an improvised mobile foundry to smelt the aluminum from the cans. They then pressed locally-found objects into sand found at a nearby construction site to make molds. After pouring the liquid aluminum into the molds, the team had created interestingly-shaped stool seats. Each stool requires around 60 cans to produce. This may sound like a lot, but a catadore can collect thousands of cans in one workday.

Coletivo Amor de Madre commissioned the project and arranged for the designers and catadores to work together, scouring the city for interesting materials and building their one-of-a-kind stools. The designers and the catadores alike learned to see the city in a new way – rather than looking around and seeing garbage, they began to see interesting materials and opportunities to use them.

Thanks to this half art/half can recycling vocational training project, the can collectors of São Paulo now have a new way to earn an income. The mobile foundry was gifted to the catadores with the intention that it be shared between them. The can collectors have a wide array of objects that they can make with the melted aluminum, taking ephemeral street objects and turning them into a kind of snapshot of the city.

“Can City is a collection of aluminium objects made from waste on the streets of São Paulo. A mobile foundry was created from salvaged materials to melt aluminum cans using waste vegetable oil collected from local cafes as a fuel. Waste collectors known as Catadores mine the streets for materials to create objects with vernacular aesthetic, providing a portrait of the streets.”

The post Aluminum Can Recycling Just Got Way More Profitable Thanks to This Genius Mobile Foundry first appeared on Dornob.

Even before stepping into this home in the Jardins neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil, it is clear that there is something special about it. A glowing red neon sign by the front door announces “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.” A wooden screen known as a muxarabie – a trademark of the architect responsible for the home’s renovation – covers the entrance, softening the harsh rays of the sun. It’s a small space, but architect Guilherme Torres has made the most of it, particularly in terms of natural light.

The home was originally built in the 1940s and was once occupied by celebrated artist Victor Brecheret. Following the artist’s death, the residence was used to house part of Brecheret’s art collection but was never occupied again until Guilherme Torres renovated it for his own personal use.

While keeping the structure of the home largely the same, Torres transformed the interior into an open and airy space that is flooded with natural light. The kitchen spills out into the courtyard, allowing the residents to transition effortlessly between the indoors and outdoors while enjoying the shelter of the home’s walls and retractable glass roof.

Despite the natural light which makes it look rather large, this diminutive home is only 1400 square feet. The home’s prime location in one of Sao Paulo’s most desirable neighborhoods only adds to its charm. But its best quality might be the artistic soul that still runs through every room.

More from the architect

“The main concept was to update the building, reflecting the contemporary language of the newcomer. The floorplan has not suffered many changes.The only things that has been changed over were the gaps, openings and coatings. All the walls were covered with drywalls and received in some parts white paint and in others, a coating that resembles cement texture.”

“The architect chose this property to live and work. With just over 30 years and works in broad expansion, Guilherme Torres is considered one of the great names of Brazilian architecture. Coming from the interior of Paraná state, Brazil, where he established his first office serving many cities of Brazil for 10 years. Guilherme wanted to translate in his own new space, the best way of a cosmopolitan life with a hint of pop.”

The post Artist’s Home Offers Light-Filled Luxury in a Small Space first appeared on Dornob.