Ladera Apartment

Architect Geraldo Ângelo Silva Location Santo Antonio, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Area 72 m² Year 2017 Photography Ju Berzoini

The intervention consisted of a project to renovate a typical apartment from the 70s in Brazil into an effective housing suitable for contemporary life. In other words, an apartment that was previously very compartmentalized and segmented became large, ventilated, lighted and open.

Among the various solutions of the project we mention the removal of the corridor from the rooms and the reduction of the number of doors, the change of the old-fashioned “room of domestic worker” in laundry. The central idea was to make the environments more integrated and facilitate family life. It was also proposed to expand and open the kitchen, extending it to the place of the old service area and making the old ‘‘employee bathroom’’ in a pantry. This intervention brought more lighting and ventilation to the kitchen.

The proposal presented also solved the great problem of lighting and ventilation in the dining and living room. By means of a ventilated glass venetian wall, a large amount of light can be established, as well as offering controlled and cross ventilation to the rooms. This provided the apartment’s social area with great comfort.

The “service entrance” door was also removed, now we have only one entrance, one door for everyone. All hydraulic and electrical installations have been rethought and redone in order to reduce the energy consumption of the property and make it more functional. The bathrooms have been completely reconfigured with more durable and minimalist materials and elements.

For the Montessori room everything was thought from the child’s perspective. The bed-house was designed at floor level and without barriers. And motor bars were installed in addition to mirrors at the height of a child’s visual field. One of the rooms has been converted into an office.

Although the project is transformative, it tried to make the apartment contemporary in a simple way using neutral materials and using few adornments. Therefore, the present apartment reflects well the new demands of our time.