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Industrial Chic Design Office in São Paulo

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Architects FGMF Arquitetos have created a combination gallery and design office for Casa REX, an important Brazilian design office.

The building was originally a residence built in the 1940’s.

Its bones are laid open in a kind of “architectural archaeology.”

On a tight budget, the architects reused construction rubble in negative marked pathways.

Within the gritty dusty rubble of the demolition, pure, clean, smooth, white paths lead to the meeting rooms and design offices.

Extensive demolition gutted most of the second floor over the reception area.

Smooth white walkways form a sensuous textural contrast with the gravel from the demolition.
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Now smooth new white stairs overlaid onto the ancient structure both anchor and reinforce the old stair.

From a walkway at the top of these stairs you descend into the two story design office.

The walkway connects directly to the CEO’s office, overlooking the two story tall space that houses the design crew.

The studio is an open space where everybody works together.

This is a soaring space shared by an poetic array of lights suggesting a flight of birds.

The stair units themselves look just as mass-produced as the pre-shaped concrete water channels, here composing an industrial chic bookcase wall.

Similarly, the exterior uses gabion walls involving contrasting red and grey stone, arranged for graphic interest.

The rebar from within the walls is exposed to create a screen.

Heavy building materials creates a unique space, very different from the existing offices.

A very different space for an unusual company.