Niemeyer’s modernism celebrated in Oscar Ibirapuera, an example of 21st-century São Paulo living
Perkins&Will completes Oscar Ibirapuera, next to Niemeyer’s modernist landmark park in São Paulo, Brazil
Perkins&Will has launched Oscar Ibirapuera, a new residential offering in São Paulo, located a stone’s throw from Niemeyer’s landmark namesake park project. The housing scheme, comprising a complex of high rises and a ground level designed for greenery, communal areas and social activity, takes the grand master's modernist architecture teachings and gives them a 21st-century twist, offering a fresh vision of living in the Brazilian metropolis.
Perkins&Will on Niemeyer’s Oscar Ibirapuera
Completed in 1954, the Ibirapuera Park by Oscar Niemeyer is a well-known part of the Brazilian modernist's legacy. Perkins&Will was appointed to create Oscar Ibirapuera, placed on the green expanse’s borders, blending its verdant nature with a high-end living proposition.
Commissioned by property developer Trisul, the project includes apartments spanning 186 sq m, 227 sq m and 233 sq m, featuring three or four bedrooms and up to four en suites.
'The floor plan was conceived so that the living room could [include] 9m at its front completely devoid of pillars, providing a panoramic view of Ibirapuera, something unique in the city,' says Douglas Tolaine, design director at Perkins&Will.
Communal areas – all expertly designed by architect Fernanda Marques – are equally well thought out, ranging from a luxuriously double-height gourmet party room, outdoor and indoor pools, a solarium, dry and wet saunas, a spa, a fitness room, a pilates room, a playground, a playroom, a game room and a bike rack.
Features throughout Oscar Ibirapuera draw on Brazilian midcentury modernism styles – movable brises-soleils on the façades, timber panels, white-coloured render and soft, curved forms, all gently nod to Niemeyer's work.
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).
-
New Revox B77 MK III reel-to-reel tape recorder, and more cassette tape-based trickery
The new Revox B77 MK III might be the ultimate analogue flex. In response, we’ve explored the outer reaches of cassette tape design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
This picky customer finds ‘perfection’ at Nipotina, Mayfair’s new pizza and pasta joint
Wallpaper* contributing editor Nick Vinson reviews Nipotina, a new Italian restaurant in London offering a carefully edited menu of traditional dishes
By Nick Vinson Published
-
Giant cats, Madonna wigs, pints of Guinness: seven objects that tell the story of fashion in 2024
These objects tell an unconventional story of style in 2024, a year when the ephemera that populated designers’ universes was as intriguing as the collections themselves
By Jack Moss Published
-
A look inside the home of George Homsey, one of the fathers of pioneering California modernist community Sea Ranch
George Homsey's home opens for the first time since his death, in 2019; see where the architect behind some of the designs for Sea Ranch, the pioneering California modernist community, lived
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Soviet brutalist architecture: beyond the genre's striking image
Soviet brutalist architecture offers eye-catching imagery; we delve into the genre’s daring concepts and look beyond its buildings’ photogenic richness
By Edwin Heathcote Published
-
Tour a warm and welcoming modernist sanctuary set on the edge of a Los Angeles canyon
The Rustic Canyon Residence by Assembledge and Jamie Bush brings together the very best of mid-century influences, with an added slice of contemporary Californian craft and style
By Jonathan Bell 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
-
Tour this Bel Vista house by Albert Frey, restored to its former glory in Palm Springs
An Albert Frey Bel Vista house has been restored and praised for its revival - just in time for the 2025 Palm Springs Modernism Week Preview
By Hadani Ditmars Published
-
A new exhibition marks Chandigarh’s modernist legacy
‘Celebrating the Capitol’, an exhibition of photographic work by architect Noor Dasmesh Singh, opens just in time for the famed modernist Indian city’s anniversary
By Ellie Stathaki 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
-
Join our tour of London Zoo, its modernist architecture and more
London Zoo is a well-established magnet for younger visitors, but there's plenty for the architecture enthusiast to admire too; our tour explores its modernist treasures for guests of all ages
By Ellie Stathaki Published