Brazilian architecture practice EB Arquitetos has exposed rough brick walls for the interiors of a newly-renovated apartment in Cruzeiro Novo, Brazil.

Called JS Apartment, the 46-square-metre apartment unit was converted from a segmented and dark apartment to a bright and light-filled interiors, bringing a new energy and flexible layout.

The old apartment's plan had separate rooms and followed a poor architectural quality. According to the studio, the project should have been redesigned with a very simple, sharp, and low-cost line.

Inside, the architects removed the dividing walls of the kitchen and laundry area, as well as the narrow living room and the first bedroom.

They designed a brand-new kitchen that is completely integrated into the living room and dining room. This allowed all these spaces to be lit and ventilated at both ends. In the end, the project takes more light that washes all spaces abundantly. 

The team exposed the central pillar in the original concrete. They applied vinyl flooring in all rooms briging unity and breadth. 

The kitchen, as the centerpiece of the house, has a single countertop that extends along the peripheral walls covered in rough brick, housing all the equipment, including machinery in the service area.

The same brick is applied as part of the kitchen ceiling slab and upper beam. "On it, a steel cable hangs supporting a suspended oblong metallic table - a tribute to the traditional tables of Brazilian bars, so traditional and popular," said the firm.

The curved shaped of the oblong table is repeated in the curve of the brick wall at the far end of the kitchen and also in the detail of the lighting niche located in the large luminous panel of the only white wall in the room. 

The studio maintained the old bathroom, which featured a rectangular white ceramic tile that modulated the internal niche that runs through the box and the basin carved in stone.

The interiors create a soft balance between raw and industrial look and contemporary feeling. Creating a contrast between rough brick wall and white walls offer a different type of transition in spaces.

Floor plan

Section

Project facts

Project name: JS Apartment

Architects: EB Arquitetos

Location: Cruzeiro Novo, Brazil.

Size: 46m2 

Date: 2021 

All images © Joana França

All drawings © EB Arquitetos

> via EB Arquitetos