Five-Story Building with Five Apartments in Brazil

The story of the Kiev project in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, began at the moment when Eduardo and Elen—a married couple of architects from the studio Arquitetura Nacional—decided to live near the families of their parents. They wanted their child to grow up surrounded by the care of grandparents—just as they themselves had grown up.

Thanks to the convenient placement of bathrooms, there is an opportunity for flexible spatial organization. A more traditional arrangement includes a common area (living room—dining room—kitchen) along with two bedrooms and a large master bedroom. In a slightly different version of the apartments, the master bedroom can be connected to a walk-in closet and, for example, a study.

Slabs are free from supporting beams that clutter the space—they appear only in places where they are barely noticeable. Ceilings in most rooms consist of exposed concrete slabs, with minimal lighting fixtures to keep the surface as clean as possible.

One of the key features of the building is its large panoramic windows that form a facade facing the street. Thanks to the special design of sliding frames, when the windows are open, the boundary between interior and exterior space completely disappears, leaving no obstruction to the beautiful view.

Photos: Marcelo Donadussi