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      Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura remodels 1960s Brasília apartment

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      Brazilian studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura has opened up the layout of an apartment in Brasília built in the 1960s to meet a family’s contemporary requirements.The remodelled apartment is located in residential building 308S in Brasília’s model superquadra, one of the first completed apartment blocks of the urban design scheme conceived by architect Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx.

      Local studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura reconfigured the apartment’s standard layout, which split the main living areas into two separate spaces.

      In the updated floor plan the exposed concrete walls are cut open to form a single, shared space for the family to gather.

      The studio was careful to preserve modernist design elements in the apartment, including its granilite flooring and white cobogo screens.
      “The project is summed up in an exaltation of the Brazilian architecture lighting what is most typical in the city’s residences and buildings while joining the modernist and contemporary office technologies and references,” said the studio.

      Black cabinetry with corrugated glass doors contrasts with the white countertops in the kitchen. Natural light passes through the square cut-outs on the cobogo wall to brighten the narrow space.
      In the living room low-lying wood shelving units wrap around the space forming a bench in front of the large windows and a surface for storing objects along the interior wall. The lounge is furnished with a grey couch and wood tables.

      Bloco Arquitetos reconfigures 1960s Brasília apartment with translucent walls

      In the dining area and library, a massive wooden bookshelf is stacked with books and audio equipment.
      Three doorways that lead to the bedrooms and bathroom are concealed within the unit, which the studio custom-built.

      In the master bedroom, the backside of the shelf forms a decorative wall of wood panelling. Opposite the large windows, a row of black doors creates a closet that doubles as a doorway to enter the bathroom situated between the two bedrooms.
      Walls in the shared bathroom are clad with vertically-laid green tiles. A large rectangular mirror hangs above the wood vanity, which is topped with two circular sink basins.

      The existing cobogo screen and concrete wall from the kitchen continue into the second bedroom. In this bedroom the closet is covered with a series of mirrors that reflect the space’s wood furnishings and the decorative window treatment.
      Several of the wood furniture pieces in the apartment are designed by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura architect Clay Rodrigues. The studio also cut a hole into the cobogo wall so the client’s cats could access their litter box.

      Brazilian studio Bloco Arquitetos also renovated an apartment on the same building block in Brasília. As part of the remodel the studio added sliding translucent glass walls.
      Other projects by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura, which translates to English as Under the Block, include an abandoned hospital transformed into a contemporary art gallery.
      Photography is by Joana France.

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      Pale woodwork updates 1920s Riverside Apartment in New York’s Upper West Side

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      New York practice Format Architecture Office has reorganised a 1920s apartment with custom millwork in the city’s Upper West Side.The renovated apartment by Format Architecture Office is in a Gothic Revival building on Riverside Drive, giving the project its name, Riverside Apartment.

      Completed before the second world war, the original apartment building had large residences that were later converted into smaller homes, which the studio said formed “a series of unconventional layouts”.

      “The building was originally constructed in 1926 and arranged around opulently scaled residences with multiple bedrooms and gallery spaces,” Format Architecture Office added.

      “It was converted to cooperative ownership in 1968, which created a large variety of accessible unit types, but also a series of unconventional layouts, as formerly single apartments were subdivided into two or even three different units,” it said.
      The renovation reorganised the existing one-bedroom unit to include another bedroom that doubles as an office, as well as a powder room and a reorganised galley-style kitchen. The decor was updated with custom cabinets and enlarged wood-clad corridors across the 1,000-square-foot (92-square-metre) space.

      “The primary goals for the project were to create flexible connections between spaces, enhance access to natural light and maximise storage,” the studio continued.
      Upon entering is a foyer with a coat closet, and a cabinet with a glass portion above that pulls natural light in from windows in a home office. A bedroom adjacent is complete with an ensuite and walk-in closet.

      A sliding wood door separates the office from a living and dining room. The pocket door is in one of the home’s corridors, which are intended to mark different areas.
      “Large thresholds between public spaces celebrate transitions and become extensions of different wood-clad storage solutions that complement the myriad needs of a small domestic space,” said the studio.

      All of the millwork at Riverside Apartment, including the corridors and custom cabinets, are made from Anigre wood – an African hardwood commonly used for furniture and cabinetry.
      Other corridors are in the entry and kitchen, while built-in bookshelves are prominent in the living room and office.

      Format Architecture Office imbues Manhattan office with “boutique sensibility” and cafe seating

      Contemporary details are accompanied by the apartment’s existing elements, like original wood-panelled doors with the glass transoms.
      Format Architecture Office aimed to emulate the early 20th-century style through other details to create “a mixture of clean lines and pre-war inspired details to celebrate the eclectic tastes of its owner”.

      The glass wall in the entry is a reinterpretation of existing glazing, which bring light through the home. Another ribbed glass detail partially conceals the dining room from the kitchen.
      A wood table, 1950s Eames Wire Chairs and a minimal white light fixture furnish the dining room, while the living room has a blue sofa and an Eames moulded plywood lounge chair from the second world war.
      Off-white walls are paired with white moulding and new oak flooring for a pared-down aesthetic, while an orange-painted front door adds another pop of colour that complements teal accents.

      Format Architecture Office founded in 2017 by architects Andrew McGee and Matthew Hettler, who met as undergraduates at the University of Michigan. The studio is based in Brooklyn and has also designed an office for a tech company in New York’s Midtown area with cafe-style seating and muted interiors.
      Other renovated homes in the Upper West Side are an apartment with a built-in bed by Stadt Architecture and a townhouse by Space4Architecture with a white spiral staircase.
      Photography is by Nick Glimenakis.

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      Renovated Montreal house by Atelier Barda contrasts black and white

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      Black furniture provides a stark contrast to the white interior of this Montreal residence, which has been overhauled by local architecture studio Atelier Barda.Atelier Barda’s Portland Residence project involved adding an extension to the rear of a historic stone house located in Montreal suburb Mount-Royal, and reconfiguring the floor plan to improve the flow between spaces.

      “This innovative redesign has freed the building’s spirit from its original constraints, giving it fresh expression in a setting that is both classic and resolutely contemporary,” the studio said.

      Architectural details like rounded walls and simple mouldings were preserved and then painted white to offer a contemporary update.
      The team then installed a box clad with black anthracite oak to span all three levels.

      The volume includes storage, a bathroom, kitchen appliances and a staircase, and forms a passageway between the main living space and the bedrooms.
      Its black hue stands out against the white backdrop and chevron-patterned oak parquet floor, defining the material palette throughout the interiors.

      Black steel mullions also frame the glass curtain wall of the extension, which the studio said it chose to protect the house from harsh climatic conditions.
      The windows wrap the kitchen, living and dining room, offering views of the garden and natural light.

      Atelier Barda renovates Montreal apartment with minimalist finishes and custom furniture

      In the living room, translucent white drapes cover the space’s large windows matching the colour of the walls. A circular, plush sofa from de Sede and a grand piano provide touches of black, while the fireplace is grey stone.
      Foraine par Atelier Barda, the firm’s design studio, designed a number of furnishings in the house.

      Many are built with solid black anthracite oak like the rectangular dining table and bench, which have wide legs detailed with thin grooves, and a circular coffee table.

      Smaller round tables for the bedrooms are wrapped in the oak panelling and fronted with drawers.
      The bedrooms and a private office are located on the upper levels of a house. A skylight is situated above the stairwell to bring natural light into the space.

      In the bathrooms, white vanities are finished with a lime and tadelakt plaster and topped with marble, which is used to cover the floors as well.

      Atelier Barda was founded by Antonio Di Bacco and Cécile Combelle, it has completed a number of renovations in Montreal including a loft apartment with black and white interiors and custom furniture and the conversion of a shop into a two-storey residence with pastel accents.
      Photography is by Alex Lesage.

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    • 113 Shares199 Views

      Bloco Arquitetos reconfigures 1960s Brasília apartment with translucent walls

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      Brazilian studio Bloco Arquitetos has stripped back an apartment in Brasília built in the 1960s and added in translucent glass to reveal the existing concrete block facade. 308 S apartment is located in Brasília’s model superquadra, which is one of the first completed apartment blocks of the urban design plan conceived by architect Lucio Costa […] More

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      Stained plywood box houses kitchen and bedroom in renovated Seattle condo

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      US architecture firm GoCstudio has inserted a dark plywood box into an apartment in Seattle that doubles as a studio space for an amateur photographer. Western Studio is a home and studio designed for a client who enjoys photography and hosting guests. The 1,000-square-foot (92.9-square-metre) open-plan unit is located inside a commercial building in Seattle’s […] More

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      Pine-and-glass shelving encloses office for tech company in Ecuador

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      Architects Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones have built a wooden office in Guayaquil, Ecuador with a wall of angular windows that pop open, as shown in these photos with people wearing coronavirus face masks. Local architects Andrade and Váscones designed the structure for technology services company Mendotel to create a private area for […] More

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      Esoteriko picks bold colour for only one room of Balmoral Blue House

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      Interiors studio Esoteriko has selected light colours and natural materials for every room in this house in Sydney, apart from one bright blue bedroom. Esoteriko designed an entirely new layout for this property overlooking Balmoral Beach, making it as open-plan as possible. A consistent palette of materials and finishes was chosen to help tie spaces together, […] More