Apto. Joaquim | RSRG Arquitetos

Apto. Joaquim takes place in an old 50’s building, located at Sao Paulo’s neighborhood, Pinheiros. It’s a simple 3 storey construction with commercial purpose at the ground floor. The apartment itself has 79 sq. meters and 2 small balconies.

The renovation main principles were bringing sun light to the whole environment and creating a natural flow between spaces. Increase the headroom and volume by taking away the original ceiling and giving sight to the roof structure were the project high points.

The renovation works lasted 4 months.

After the demolition of some walls and placement of metallic structural reinforcements, the apartment layout turned almost completely free of physical boundaries. After the application of the wooden floor, two volumes were added to the project, a blue box and a hydraulic box.

The blue box is the only colored architectural element and separates the suite/room from the remaining spaces. It doesn’t go throughout the whole headroom, giving space for the wind and sunlight to freely spread, generating a dynamic dialogue with the old wood structure.

This volume contains the suite’s cabinet as well, and can be accessed from multiple sides: general use face the corridor and the owner’s private clothes face the suite.

The lavatory (sink and mirror) is placed inside the room and outside the private bathroom in order to bring a more intimate touch to the bath tub. This solution optimizes the space use. An open cabinet goes alongside the lavatory and almost joins the Silestone sink top, establishing a slight and detailed composition.

The hydraulic white box is composed by a dish cabinet, a glass separated lavabo and the suite’s bathroom, where a lovely wooden bath tub is set up.

Since the building is old and doesn’t have a modern gas system, a metallic 5000L boiler was added above the bathroom, providing hot water to the apartment.

The vast living room has a dining table, social area and a small office, where the owner works and writes her poems at weekends.

The TV room can be used as guest room and contains the owner’s extensive book collection set on the main wall, for she is an editor at a book company.

The kitchen and laundry are composed by white furniture and white ceramic tiles, creating a bright room. The oven balcony has no boundaries and gives direct visual connection to the dining table, intensifying the uses and integrating spaces.