a wooden grid illuminates SC apartment by pascali semerdjian in sao paulo

located in sao paulo, brazil, the SC apartment has been conceived by pascali semerdjian arquitetos for an art and design collector. given the unusual brief of creating a place not for living, but for hosting parties, the architects developed the project with a strong focus on the materiality and spatial experiences of the apartment. with this in mind, the most striking feature of the scheme is the wooden grid ceiling that brings warmth to the interior and provides all the indirect lighting of the living room.

the wooden mesh recesses almost all of the lighting of the apartment

all images © ricardo bassetti

to make the wooden grid stand out within the space, pascali semerdjian arquitetos has exposed the concrete structure of the ceiling, as well as a few of the walls of the apartment. all the flooring is made in ‘granilite’ – a polished mix of concrete and small stones. another strong element in the project is the perforated stainless steel sheet panels that recess all the doors leading to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. this element is designed so all the doors are perfectly aligned with the panels. behind the perforated metal sheets, there are milky acrylic boards for visual and acoustic isolation of the doors.

the ceiling structure is in fact a metal grid in wood, the metal profile hosts all the LED lighting

wooden boarding that runs along all the living room walls, hosts a metal box that works as a bar and the dinner counter. the board has an unusual design, with several wooden feet, like a caterpillar. the sliding glass windows that separate the living room and the balcony can also be recessed, completely connecting both spaces. the bedroom is integrated with the closet and office area, not only because they are in the same space, but because they are connected by the same wood panel that ‘runs’ along all the walls. it begins as a headboard, transforming into closets and finally as the working table.

view of the dining room

the nightstands, also designed by the architects, consist of a walnut box with a drawer over a horizontal metal sheet. the rest of the apartment has also been decorated with special design pieces, such as jean prouve’s chairs, moooi’s raimond pendant and nendo for moroso cloud table. the artworks are from osgemeos (bedroom), jesus rafael soto (dining room), ken russell (bedroom office) and mauro perucchetti’s jelly babies at the bar.

the timber of the grid stands out against the grey concrete walls and ceiling

view of the living room

perforated metal sheet panels form all the doors of the apartment

the stainless steel perforated panel

all interiors were made by the studio, from furniture to artwork selection

the terrace is covered with wooden panels that can be opened or closed according to the occasion

the master bedroom is integrated with a home office

the wooden headboard runs all along the bedroom walls, unifying the space

wooden closet panels

project info:

project name: ‘SC apartment’

location: sao paulo, brazil

design: pascali semerdjian arquitetos

photography: ricardo bassetti

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom