Saint Honore Apartment | Memola Estudio

This renovation functionally and visually transformed the apartment, located in the iconic residential building Saint Honoré, in Sao Paulo. The concept creates a timeless atmosphere inspired by lofts with an industrial ambiance, where rustic materials – exposed concrete and bricks, revealed by the complete removal of stucco and finishings from masonry – live in harmony with the new wooden surfaces, the furniture, and the objects which at times represent contemporary design, and at other times have been salvaged, adding a delicate touch to the set. One of the goals was to create a background for the exhibition of art, at the same time neutral and expressive.

Walls were demolished mainly in the wet areas – kitchen, laundry, and bathroom – allowing for the total reconfiguration of the first two to better the flow and connect the kitchen to the living. The new design made a new washroom possible, side by side with the en suite bathroom. This entire area’s flooring was modified, with new rustic and earthy toned ceramic tiles placed in the kitchen and laundry, next to the entrance.

Large stretches of masonry were demolished in the private hall and between the kitchen and the living room, replaced by wood frames with glass panels, with which one can vary the floorplan and either partially or entirely connect the spaces. With  vertically marked divisions, the frames set the rhythm and bring unity to the apparent randomness of exposed bricks and concrete – of marked presence in the space. Up high, they are limited by the exposed concrete beams and, down below, by the bands of wooden planks that signal where walls were removed, dissonant from the beautiful fish-scale flooring that covers the space.

The industrial universe that makes up the concept is present both in the exposed services, highlighted by the rigorous distribution of pipes throughout the apartment, as well as the stainless-steel pieces that make up the kitchen countertops and cabinets and the office furniture, where there used to be a third bedroom. The guest bedroom got a new redesigned closet, so that one half of it faces the hall and the other the bedroom, and the headboard wall was completely stripped, revealing the bricks behind it. In the en suite, the headboard wall was acoustically insulated.

In the en suite bathroom, the neutral background of ceramic tiles is countered by the wooden cabinet under the sink and the delicate design of the salvaged mirrors, each one unique. The washroom, on the other hand, is visually dramatic: dark graded tiles cover the floor and walls with the exception of the one made entirely of mirrors, which anchors the concrete sink, its borders guiding the frames.

Photography Credits:
Denilson Machado

Collaborators:
Vitor Penha

Veronica Molina

Giuliana Bello

Bianca Sinisgalli