Apartment with a suspended and transparent pool has a view of postcards

A young entrepreneur purchased two neighboring duplex penthouses in Leblon (RJ), intending to unify them, and for this mission, he commissioned a project from architect Rodrigo Cardoso of House in Rio Projeto and CASACOR Rio de Janeiro. "The client had already been following our work on Instagram and also received a recommendation from the owner of the adjacent penthouse, which we also remodeled," Rodrigo explains. After the renovation, the property featured a semicircular floor plan with 315 m², offering a 180-degree view of the most upscale area of the southern zone of Rio (which includes the Leblon beach and the entire neighborhood, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Morro Dois Irmãos, and Christ the Redeemer), in addition to the third floor, which was built from scratch, with a robust structural reinforcement to enable the new areas. "The entire project was designed to highlight and enhance the view from the tallest building in Leblon, a cylindrical tower raised over the Rio Design Center shopping mall," informs Rodrigo. Overall, the client requested a sophisticated penthouse, with premium finishes, a differentiated leisure area, a gym with state-of-the-art equipment, two suites with bathrooms integrated into the bedroom on the first floor, and on the top floor, two master suites with a shower area adapted to function as a sauna. In the decor, the architect opted for a contemporary minimalist aesthetic and adopted a color palette with a neutral and light base to maintain the prominence of the external view, such as the natural marble flooring Travertino Navona (present throughout the apartment), the slatted panels made from natural freijó wood, and the off-white walls. In the kitchen, counters, backsplash, and island are made of synthetic stone in a sand tone.

In the living room, two signed design pieces reign supreme: the island sofa called Desejo, designed by Luisa Moysés, and the Max armchair, by Fernanda Marques. In the kitchen, the highlights are the cooking island with burners and a hood installed directly on the countertop, reinforcing the minimalist style of the decor; the stone dining table attached to the island; and the visually light staircase, made of steel, with steps that appear to 'float'. "Another interesting detail is that the semicircular shape of the apartment allowed integrating the kitchen into the living room without it being too exposed", assesses Rodrigo. In the outdoor area around the living room, the architect highlights the bottom of the transparent glass pool that sits above the dining table (which also serves as a pool table); the wooden slatted bench with an integrated garden along the masonry guardrail of the facade; and the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors (with aluminum frames and transparent glass) that separate the entire social area from the outdoor area, allowing full integration of these spaces. But the main highlight of the project is undoubtedly the suspended pool built on the third floor. Besides the breathtaking view, it features a bottom and sides made of transparent glass, an infinity edge, an internal area with a shallower beach area (which accommodates up to 2 sun loungers), a hot tub bench, a jet for swimming against the current, a stone pathway that provides access to one of the suites, and a waterfall that flows over the green stone (Maestro quartzite in an open book format). Note that the facade was clad with Travertino Navona marble, with three-dimensional undulations sculpted from the material itself, designed by the architect. The entire apartment has been automated, with controls available, even remotely, such as opening the door and turning on the air conditioning. "The biggest challenge of this project was to meet all the client's requests in a spacious property but with the peculiar semicircular shape, without losing the fluidity of the spaces. But we managed to deliver a result that lived up to what the client dreamed of," concludes the architect.