Architect, furniture designer and Brazilian tastemaker Guilherme Torres was instantly attracted to his box home’s creative pedigree. Located in the fashionable Jardins area of São Paulo, Brazil, the area used to house the Group of Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret, the man behind the Fantastic Monument to the Bandeirantes in São Paulo. Torres, who has residences in São Paulo and Londrina, did not want to change that much in the ground plan; the only things which were tweaked are the openings, coatings and openings in the area.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Guilherme Torres
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Size: 1,400 square feet
That’s interesting: The house belonged to Italian-Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret in the 1940s.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

A neon installation by artist Pinky Wainer that reads “land of the free home of the brave” and a skull and crossbones welcome mat welcomes guests in the front entry. The swinging front door is constructed from the same wooden muxarabie material as the mezzanine bathroom tub’s ceiling (next).

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

The ceiling of the bathroom tub is meant to soften the rays of the sun. The wooden muxarabie material is a registered trademark of Torres’.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

The walls were covered with shingles. Some parts were painted white; others obtained a coating which looks like cement texture. The black dining table is an original design by Studio Torres.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

From that angle, it is possible to see that the entry houses a massive courtyard. Subdued and easy furniture and an open design enlarge the first amount of the two-story residence, which also houses a work studio for Torres.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

Torres, who considers himself a citizen of the world and retains many properties in Brazil and Europe, wanted to communicate in his very own new area a cosmopolitan lifestyle with traces of pop culture influences.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

This neon light art is also by Pinky Wainer, inventor of the neon installation at the entry. In the foreground is a ceramic skull, frequently used as a sign of mortality and melancholy — a willful addition to Torres’ domestic space, where each piece of furniture has a decorative or practical purpose.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

Every book in his collection has a decorative purpose, and each one’s inclusion was considered and mulled over by the artist-architect.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

Torres believes his home space his “cauldron of references,” where he receives both friends and clients who share his love of antiques, street art and electronic music; his residence life is necessarily symbiotic with his structural and merchandise layouts.

Denilson Machado – MCA Estudio

The bursts of orange and citrine tones in the kitchen, dining room and bedroom are the only splashes of colour in what is otherwise a reserved palette of materials, subtle surfaces and stark forms.

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