Decorated Vila Mariana

Superlimão signs the retrofit of a building in Vila Mariana, São Paulo, unifying two existing structures and redesigning their purpose for contemporary life. The project, developed for a group of investors from Banco Daycoval, starts from a simple and powerful premise: to regenerate what makes sense, update what needs room to breathe, and reveal qualities that were already there, merely hidden by time. More than an aesthetic renovation, the retrofit recomposes flows, expands common areas, reorganizes circulation, and creates new types of units, including duplex apartments on the upper floors, emphasizing natural lighting, cross-ventilation, and more flexible uses. The intervention brings the building closer to a current urban logic: spaces that converse with one another, allow multiple ways of inhabiting, and reduce barriers between inside and out. To translate this vision, Superlimão developed a model unit of approximately 100 m². The space reveals, on a domestic scale, the potential of the complex as both a real estate product and a place for living. The original floor plan was reopened: the kitchen and living room now form a continuous axis, connected to the home office and benefited by opposing windows that distribute light throughout the day. It is an architecture that lets daily life circulate. The aesthetic is born from the friction between preservation and updating. Original elements of the building, such as the parquet flooring and stripped pillars, coexist with lightweight metal sheets, rational cabinetry, and a color palette that alternates between neutrals and dense tones. The result is an environment with intention, without exaggeration. A project that does not try to mimic a perfect home, but rather signals real possibilities for occupation. In the bedrooms, natural light sets the pace. Three bedrooms, including one suite, explore distinct atmospheres, always focusing on comfort and simplicity. The service area also takes a leading role: natural lighting, ventilation, and a pantry camouflaged within the furniture expand the intelligent use of the floor plan. From a technical standpoint, the retrofit required a complete renovation of the utilities, readjusted within the ceiling, and the reorganization of accesses and common areas. On the ground floor, collective spaces were redesigned to encourage coexistence and integration among residents. Meanwhile, the upper floors gained duplex units, expanding the mix and reinforcing the building's adaptability to the current market. The Vila Mariana project is, above all, an exercise in architectural listening. It interprets the existing building, respects its layers, and creates new possibilities without nostalgia and without forced rupture.