No matter how adequate an architectural project may be, the program to be provided by a building varies over time, often requiring functional and constructive changes. As happens, in fact, with this 740 m2 residence with elegant lines, built in the 1950s, in one of the most noble neighborhoods of São Paulo, recently subjected to a retrofit process, led by the team of architect Fernanda Marques.

“I designed this project to serve a couple and their three growing children. Everyone, invariably, interested in receiving. And a lot”, jokes Fernanda, who, from the beginning, realized the need to optimize the living spaces in the house. Even if it had to resort to structural changes to do so.

“So much so that they responded well to the idea of ​​transferring the pool area to one of the sides of the house with the aim of creating a new gourmet area. Today, the most frequented space in the house”, says the architect who spared no effort in the undertaking. “It was indeed the longest and most challenging stage of the entire project, but it was worth it.”

Not that other changes didn’t also prove inevitable. Throughout the ground floor, the openings were enlarged with the aim of increasing the spans for better integration between the internal and external areas. Aiming to obtain a more flexible layout, all internal finishes were changed, as well as all partitions.

Today, the ground floor exclusively concentrates the social area of ​​the house. On the first floor are the suites and the home-theater, while on the top there is an area dedicated to the gym, the SPA, and the glass-enclosed wet sauna. Everything is very synthetic and practical, based on the optimization of internal circulation and lighting conditions. “All they wanted was to live in an elegant and practical way”, summarizes the architect.

In this sense, great attention was devoted to the lighting chapter. “On the outside, I tried to emphasize the landscaping and less the luminous object. In the interiors, the equation was different”, she explains, who in all environments sought to explore the maximum ornamental potential of chandeliers, lampshades and lamps. Without forgetting, of course, the light tones and natural materials, two of its trademarks. “In addition to being neutral, they are the most long-lasting”, she summarizes.