Located in Ipanema (RJ), the first apartment of architect
Luiza Mesquita (partner of architect
Luana Bergamo in the office
Sketchlab Arquitetura ), is
60 m² and has always belonged to her family, but it had been rented for many years and had never been renovated. Since it was bought by her parents 20 years ago, the idea was that one day it would be used by her daughter.
“My parents bought two apartments in the same building where my mother was born and raised – one for me and one for my brother, with the intention of keeping our family close, since they currently live in the building across the street,” explains Luiza. “Since I spent my childhood visiting my grandmother in the apartment next door,
my first apartment is full of fond memories and fond memories ,” she adds.
Having decided to leave her parents’ house to live with her boyfriend and their pitbull dog, Luiza decided to completely renovate the apartment before moving in. “My mother always valued spaces that were not only beautiful, but also functional, and I have carried that into my design style to this day. It’s no wonder that practicality was the watchword in this project. On the other hand, my parents have always been very basic and sober. So,
I felt the need to add color and give it a more youthful feel ,” she adds.
The apartment was torn down during the renovation, leaving only one old wall. Originally, the plan had two bedrooms and only one bathroom. As the architect plans to expand her family soon,
the starting point for the project was the creation of two suites, one for the future baby. Large and useless, the old utility room (which bordered the exposed pillar in the living room) was demolished to
expand the social area and change the orientation of the kitchen , which was previously a small, closed hallway. Removing the service door allowed for the creation of a
more compact service area, “camouflaged” by white aluminum sliding doors with wired glass. “This feature allows the small space to be isolated from the
living room , when necessary, without blocking the passage of natural light,” says Luiza. Another important point in the renovation was the creation of the lavatory, which did not exist in the original plan.
According to the architect, the project is very personal, as it fully incorporates her own tastes and memories. “
I can say that the project is 50% old-fashioned and 50% young , because, at the same time that I wanted to bring a contemporary atmosphere, I thought about how we, architects, are always in transition and want to try out new trends”, she ponders. The concern with practicality was also essential in the elaboration of the project, as the resident wanted materials and finishes that would make her day-to-day life easier, with quick and uncomplicated maintenance. A good example was her choice of
wood-effect porcelain flooring in the oak pattern , instead of wood itself.
In the decor, which follows a contemporary style, a few pieces came from the architect's old address, such as
the headdress painting bought in Goiânia (from a local artist) and the
chairs by designer Gustavo Bittencourt , which were an old passion. The rest is practically all new, with emphasis on the furniture with a clean and timeless design, with
gray as the base and pops of color in earthy tones and green to compensate for the lack of views from the windows, since the apartment is located between the building's ventilation prisms.
Among the designer pieces, she highlights the Iaiá chairs in the living room (purchased before the work even began) and the bench of the same name positioned at the foot of the double bed, all created by designer
Gustavo Bittencourt . Another standout piece in the living room is the C41 wire coffee table, created by
Marcus Ferreira , also a long-time wish of the architect because she considers it versatile and elegant.
“Without a doubt, the biggest challenge of this project was creating the bathroom in the baby’s room. Since there was no infrastructure necessary to create a complete bathroom and the neighbor on the floor below did not allow any intervention on his slab, it was necessary to use a specific piece of equipment called Sanitrit, which is housed within the masonry, with access behind the kitchen refrigerator, thus enabling the creation of wet areas under these conditions”, concludes architect Luiza Mesquita.
