1 Comment »

Originality and Wit in Tropical Condominium Design

• Tweet

• Tweet

A perfect handkerchief lawn of a green roof frames the sea.

Perfection, right?

But I’ll bet you’ve never seen a “green roof” so brazenly stated!

Underneath it, there’s nothing but air. No pretense of an earth-connected dwelling. Very witty.

Instead, a vast open cube of an urbane living room soars up under the green roof.

Studio Arthur Casas’ Condominiums Baleia in Sao Paulo marry originality to condo design.

The condominiums overlook the ocean on Brazil’s gorgeous sea coast.

It’s basically a huge living room cube volume of open air, offset by a smaller bedroom upstairs.

Looking through the living room, behind a courtyard, is a glimpse of the kitchen and dining room.

In a typical move for this architect, the proportion of the living room is a soaring cube shape.

This gigantic height appropriates a huge slice of sky, maximising the impact of a sea view.

But notice how the ceiling is lowered to a normal height on the left.

In the lowered section of the living room under the bedroom, an intimate fireplace makes for a relaxing setting.

There is an unresolved mystery in this architecture.

Looking back towards the dining room courtyard, notice these three enormous expanses of windows:

Now looking the other way at that side, those enormous windows are gone.

Such huge windows could not have been slid to one side, surely?

It is true that this confident and efficient design speaks of the firm’s considerable commercial experience.

Perhaps there is a mechanical means to sliding twenty-foot high windows.

Up the well made stairs, a bedroom also overlooks the stunning view.

Each condominium has everything you need for the perfect vacation.

Repeated on down the line.

When a design works so well, why not do it over and over again?