Sabará Apartment Renovation by Renata Lovro Arquitetura

Preserving History While Enhancing Flow

The Sabará Apartment, originally designed in the 1940s, retained its historic charm but featured segmented rooms that disrupted natural light, ventilation, and circulation. The renovation aimed to modernize the space while respecting its architectural heritage, transforming the apartment into an open, functional, and light-filled home.

Open and Connected Social Areas

A major intervention focused on the social areas, creating a continuous flow between the living room, kitchen, and balcony. By removing non-structural walls, natural light now floods the apartment, enhancing connectivity between spaces. Exposed concrete pillars and beams were deliberately left visible, complemented by custom indirect lighting to highlight the architectural structure.

Kitchen and Dining Integration

The original kitchen was small, isolated, and lacked a breakfast area. Renovation introduced a larger kitchen with a terrazzo countertop, allowing for a shared cooking and dining experience. A green-painted frame highlights the opening between the kitchen and living room, encouraging social interaction. Adjustments to the laundry access and the addition of a new window further optimized light distribution.

Thoughtful Bathroom Redesign

The apartment initially had insufficient bathrooms for its size. The renovation split one large bathroom into a children's bathroom and a guest lavatory, improving functionality while maintaining design harmony with the overall interiors.

Bedrooms and Private Spaces

The apartment’s bedrooms were initially disconnected from the social areas. One room was transformed into a TV room with new access from the living space, and a wardrobe was created by demolishing part of the hallway wall, seamlessly integrating the intimate and functional areas.

Material Palette and Minimalist Aesthetics

The design stripped away excessive finishes, fake wooden beams, and unnecessary textures, preserving the original parquet flooring and exposing structural elements. The living room now features a custom concrete bench serving as a sideboard, blending functionality and minimalist elegance.

Design Highlights:

• Restoration of original parquet floors
• Exposed concrete pillars and slabs with indirect lighting
• Integrated kitchen and dining area with terrazzo countertop
• Optimized light and ventilation through strategic openings
• Functional bathroom layout with added guest lavatory
• Flexible private spaces and enhanced connectivity

The Sabará Apartment is a perfect example of historic apartment renovation, balancing heritage preservation, modern comfort, and open-plan living in São Paulo’s Higienópolis neighborhood.

All Photographs are works of Paula Monroy