Updating the work of a master architect is no easy task. Studio Arthur Casas had exactly that task with DS House, a 1980s modernist residence in Sao Paulo, and the results are quietly dazzling.
The striking original home, marked by cylindrical concrete columns, was the work of Ugo di Pace, renowned and revered in Brazil. The original owners remain but, now their children have moved out, they needed changes to reflect their fresh circumstances and to house a busy social life.
Studio Arthur Casas have punched new and enlarged openings into the outer walls, embracing the surrounding gardens to create what the architects call a "blur" between indoors and out. A circular skylight over the new main entrance is both a feature and a source of extra brightness.
Common areas have been enlarged to allow for the couple's frequent parties. The swimming pool is extended to create a rectangular pool under new windows. One of the cylindrical columns now houses a fireplace.
A mezzanine level is a home cinema, the screen flanked by the clients' collection of works by the visionary Brazilian documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado, evidence of the refined taste that pervades this renovation.
Photography by Ricardo Labougle
Want more of the best Brazilian architecture? Explore Estudio Chao’s Apartment Renovation high in the hilltops of Rio de Janeiro.
