Arquitetos Associados

Estúdios Capelinha

Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti

ESTÚDIOS CAPELINHA

Arquitetos Associados

YEAR
2011

PHOTOGRAPHS
Leonardo Finotti

LOCATION
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

CATEGORY
Apartments

Text description provided by architect.

The Estúdios Capelinha 244 building is an initiative of architects - most of them entrepreneurs - interested in presenting alternatives to the standardization of the housing market.

Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti
Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti

The building has 10 apartments, all of them with a private outdoor area, sometimes at ground level and others on roofs. Interior, compact spaces are arranged in two or three levels, connected by a central void extending vertically through each unit. Thus we seek the possibility of a life less certain and less influenced by the models traditionally imposed by the real estate market.

SITE

Set in a long and narrow urban lot (10x40m), the building takes advantage of the sloping terrain to implement underground parking, distributing five apartments at ground level and five at the top level. The apartment windows are predominantly laid out to the ends of the property (front or back), avoiding openings sideways to avoid being exposed to the neighbors.

The middle apartment opens in the opposite direction and thus is farther away from party walls, gaining space with circulation areas and taking advantage of cross ventilation. The front and side areas of the site are private to the apartments on the ground floor, decorated as small houses, each with its own garden. The upper apartments have terraces from which enjoy views of the city and the Serra do Curral.

Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti
Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti

USE AND APPROPRIATION

The spatial integration ensures a better use of spaces, avoiding the typical division of apartments in the market. The kitchen is integrated into the common area, concealed by closet doors, the common space in turn opens onto a balcony and a garden extending the area of social coexistence.


Upstairs rooms are distributed in mezzanines, open toward the central void and sharing the bathroom. Instead of thinking about space as a series of compartments surrounded by four walls, the resident must break with this predisposed scheme to seek a better way of living.

The reverse reasoning applies: the dwelling is open and without walls, which allows one to enjoy visual and physical integration. If necessary, later, with a quick and economical construction without waste, one can close and redefine spaces.

Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti
Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti
Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti

The functional indeterminacy prevents the duplication of bathrooms - there is one for each floor of the apartment - and the multiplication of enclosures, resulting in an integrated environment with a better quality of life.

There is plenty of lighting and ventilation provided by the openings on the sides. All fixtures - toilets, kitchen and internal staircase - are concentrated on the side facades, releasing the central space as an area of prolonged stay of undetermined use.

Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti
Estúdios Capelinha
© Leonardo Finotti

Simple and durable materials - granite in collective circulations, rooms and bathrooms; wood for mezzanines; deck on the terraces; stainless steel on the front wall; and textured paint on the facades - allow us to concentrate efforts and investment in large openings, sliding windows, private gardens and elevator; forming internal spaces more concerned about the quality of life than social representation.


Estúdios Capelinha
Basement Floor Plan
Estúdios Capelinha
First Floor Plan
Estúdios Capelinha
Second Floor Plan
Estúdios Capelinha
Third Floor Plan
Estúdios Capelinha
Fourth Floor Plan
Estúdios Capelinha
Fifth Floor Plan


Estúdios Capelinha
Section AA
Estúdios Capelinha
Section BB


Estúdios Capelinha
Facade
Estúdios Capelinha
Facade

Arquitetos Associados
T +55 31 32617446
Arquitetos Associados
Av. Brasil, 108 - Santa Efigênia, Belo Horizonte - MG, 30140-001, Brazil