Flavio Castro creates a flexible Brazilian apartment interior

This apartment in Sao Paulo’s Vila Olímpia may be strategically placed in one of the city’s most affluent and vibrant neighbourhoods, but it was suffering from too many, small and dark rooms and an overall inefficient use of space. When the owners, two brothers, decided it was time for a refresh, they called upon local architect Flavio Castro, to embark on a complete redesign of their home’s interior.
Castro’s main goal was to make the most of the available surface. The unit may measure a mere 60 sq m, but this clever interior design allows the rooms to breathe and creates the impression of light and spaciousness. By planning an integrated design that unites in a generous open plan living space, the main sitting room, TV room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, balcony and office, Castro spearheaded a full rethink of the brothers’ way of living.
The secret is in creating a series of ‘hybrid and mobile furniture’, explains the architect. Here, pieces of furniture can flexibly alternate uses, while bespoke cabinetry hides services (such as the laundry space) and further functions (such as the kitchen hob). So the multi-functional room can easily and seamlessly adapt to different possible scenarios and stages of daily life.
Using a simple material palette, Castro employs colour accents, such as the kitchen cabinetry’s vibrant green, to create the home’s playful interior style. Offsetting the communal and multifaceted character of the main living space, the two brothers’ bedrooms are tucked away at the apartment’s rear, ensuring privacy when needed.
Castro's main goal was to make the most of the available space.
In order to achieve this, he worked with a series of ‘hybrid and mobile furniture’.
The architect created several bespoke, multi-tasking pieces that can serve different uses.
For example the kitchen cabinetry hides elements, such as the laundry and hob.
The material palette was kept simple, using only a few colour accents, such as the kitchen cabinetry's bright green hue.
The bedrooms are tucked away at the apartment’s rear, ensuring privacy when needed.
INFORMATION
For more information visit Flavio Castro’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Corner Corner may be London's most unique entertainment destination yet
The newly-opened venue combines food, jazz and—yes—urban farming beneath one sprawling roof
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The Wallpaper* Design Issue comes with our Salone del Mobile must-sees
The May 2025 issue of Wallpaper* is on sale now, taking in Milan Design Week, the Venice Biennale, and a very stylish tea party
By Bill Prince Published
-
Aboard Gio Ponti's colourful Arlecchino train in Milan, a conversation about design with Formafantasma
The design duo boards Gio Ponti’s train bound for the latest Prada Frames symposium at Milan Design Week
By Laura May Todd Published
-
The new MASP expansion in São Paulo goes tall
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) expands with a project named after Pietro Maria Bardi (the institution's first director), designed by Metro Architects
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
An Upstate Sao Paulo house embraces calm and the surrounding rolling hills
BGM House, an Upstate Sao Paulo house by Jacobsen Arquitetura, is a low, balanced affair making the most of its rural setting
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Step inside the secret sanctuary of Rua Polonia House in São Paulo
Rua Polonia House by Gabriel Kogan and Guilherme Pianca together with Clara Werneck is an urban sanctuary in the bustling Brazilian metropolis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
São Paulo's Pacaembu stadium gets a makeover: we go behind the scenes with architect Sol Camacho
Pacaembu stadium, a São Paulo sporting icon, is being refurbished; the first phase is now complete, its architect Sol Camacho takes us on a tour
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
Tour 18 lesser-known modernist houses in South America
We swing by 18 modernist houses in South America; architectural writer and curator Adam Štěch leads the way in discovering these lesser-known gems, discussing the early 20th-century movement's ideas and principles
By Adam Štěch Published
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie Stathaki
The top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Restoring São Paulo: Planta’s mesmerising Brazilian brand of midcentury ‘urban recycling’
Brazilian developer Planta Inc set out to restore São Paulo’s historic centre and return it to the heyday of tropical modernism
By Rainbow Nelson Published
-
All aboard Casa Quinta, floating in Brazil’s tropical rainforest
Casa Quinta by Brazilian studio Arquipélago appears to float at canopy level in the heart of the rainforest that flanks the picturesque town of Paraty on the coast between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
By Rainbow Nelson Published