DE Spotlight Interview

ARTHUR CASAS a brazilian architect with offices in Sao Paulo and New York who is well known for his works in Tokyo, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York and São Paulo, creating a vocabulary that is recognized and published internationally.

DE Editor in chief Anirudh Datta had a detailed interaction with the internationally acclaimed architect for the DE Spotlight interview series where Arthur talks about his journey and shares his latest residential projects for our “beautiful homes edition”- The TP in Paris, France and the JY in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTHUR CASAS (PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT AT STUDIO ARTHUR CASAS) (SAO PAULO - NEW YORK)

& design magazine #DEspotlight // cover story

By ANIRUDH DATTA DESIGN ESSENTIA MAGAZINE//DEINDIA

From the object to the landscape, inside out, the creative AD : WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO process of Studio Arthur Casas is intimately connected to a PURSUE A CAREER IN horizontal scale, where the main concern is the dialogue in ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN? the conception of programs that can be as diverse as a chair or an entire neighborhood, influenced by a spirit both AC : There are children who create modernist and contemporary that is brazilian but also computer programmes, others write cosmopolitan. books, I would design . In 1973, at only 12, I conceived my first project, a “Our creative process assumes that in architecture the whole is child’s play. First, there was no specific always greater than the sum of its parts. it is the quality of the whole client. that permeates, controls and affects every detail of our design. Part of the architecture is about therefore, our attention is directed to all scales, from architecture to establishing a dialogue with the person furniture, from the smallest of the objects to the choice of all the who you are designing to. I made up the materials used. the perception of the environments happens totally, programme, the client and the plot. But not only with our eyes, but with all our senses, our bodies and our architecture is also about observation, and emotions.” says Arthur. we pay attention to what interests us, especially when we are kids.

AD : WHO WERE YOUR EARLY DESIGN HEROES AND ROLE MODELS?

AC : I look up to Frank Lloyd Wright, for his inherent command of scale and his unwavering commitment to applying it at each stage of a project’s completion.

AD : TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY IN THE INCEPTION OF STUDIO ARTHUR CASAS.

AC : The Expo 2015 Brazil pavilion was a project that made Studio be recognized internationally, as well as the Emiliano Hotel in Rio de Janeiro., Brazil. The Studio's projects are based on human beings and their needs, as well as the search for the best possible relation with the landscape. Architecture is born in symbiosis with the interior design and the real scale of contemporary furniture, considering routes and, rationally, optimizing the occupation of a space.

(on left) EMILIANO HOTEL, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL photographer: FERNANDO GUERRA | FG+SG

34 | May - June 2021 Edition//Design Essentia//DE INDIA AD : BEING FROM SAO PAULO, BRAZIL, IS AD : YOU’RE MOST PROUD - FAVORITE THERE ANY SPECIFIC STYLE OF PROJECT TILL NOW? ANYTHING SPECIFIC ARCHITECTURE YOU LOVE TO FOLLOW YOU LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT THIS THAT REPRESENTS YOUR CITY AND PROJECT THAT MAKES IT SPECIAL FOR COUNTRY? YOU?

AC : I grew up in São Paulo, in a neighborhood AC : The house that I designed for my family, 17 full of trees that, unlike the massive majority of years ago on the beach, was a game changer - a the city, was entirely planned. I spent my moment of revival for authorial architecture in childhood going through the winding streets of Brazil. Alto da Lapa, in the west zone, redoing the route imagined by the urban planners of Companhia City, a company based in London and that for a AD : TELL US SOMETHING YOU REALLY long time was an absolute reference in urban LIKED ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT - planning for São Paulo residents. This, perhaps, “THE TP APARTMENT” IN PARIS? was my first contact with a foreign vision of how spaces could be thought and planned. AC : In the TP Apartment in Paris, I like the way the original structure of the apartment was AD : IN FEW WORDS, HOW WOULD preserved in its original aspect while also YOU DEFINE YOUR DESIGN PROCESS – connecting the social area that has the living PHILOSOPHY? room, the dining room and the kitchen. The furniture was carefully chosen to delimit each AC : Humanism is the basis of my work, I am area, defining the layout. There are also always the main character of my projects. I’ve got hand-picked art pieces that complete the finishing to be happy in the spaces I create - it’s for this of the project. purpose that I understand architecture. The Studio reflects and translates the uniqueness of //below; The TP Apartment in Paris, France. customers into architecture. By internalizing Photographer : Filippo Bamberghi customers / users, we create an architecture check out full project on tailored to them, on demand, which best meets www.designessentiamagazine.com their needs and lifestyle.

May - June 2021 Edition//Design Essentia//DE INDIA | 35 TP APARTMENT

Located on one of the most elegant streets of Paris, where the major fashion stores and art galleries are concentrated, this apartment signed by Arthur Casas, co- authored by architect Marina Werfel, was designed to fulfill the wishes of the residents - a couple with two children - for practical, integrated spaces so they can welcome friends and accommodate a family life.

The project’s biggest challenge was to connect the environments and, at the same time, respect the conditions of the building, adapting to the limitations imposed by the original structure of the apartment, which was preserved in its original aspect.

The social area brings together, in the same environment, the living room, the dining room and the kitchen. In order to delimit each area, the furniture was arranged so it could define the project’s layout. The monochromatic palette and materiality guarantee the aesthetic harmony of this space. For the finishing, preferences were for wood textures and for the use of iron in natural tones. Furniture and art pieces were chosen along with the client - much of it was searched and selected in Paris. Among the highlights, there are different sofas, arranged to bring balance to the environment; and the custom-made stool placed behind the sofa, serving as an object support or as a seating for any dining room meeting.

Photographer : Filippo Bamberghi

36 | May - June 2021 Edition//Design Essentia//DE INDIA May - June 2021 Edition//Design Essentia//DE INDIA | 37 AD : TELL US SOEMTHING ABOUT ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOUSES YOU DESIGNED RECENTLY?

AC : That would be the JY House in Porto Feliz, Brazil. The integration of interior and exterior is beautiful, as if the landscape was being brought into the house. The two displaced volumes also provide an interesting architectural character to the house. The house is also sustainable, which is a very important aspect to the Studio.

AD : THIS EDITION IS ABOUT CELEBRATING THE ESSENCE OF OUR HOMES, STAYING INDOORS SAFE IN THIS PANDEMIC MADE US CONNECT WITH OUR HOMES MORE THAN EVER. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR PROCESS TO DESIGN A RESIDENCE THAT TRANSFORMS THE LIVING OF THE RESIDENT?

AC : I've noticed that what has changed was the fact that people understand have understood how healthy it is to live adequately, with beauty and comfort. At the beginning of the pandemic I thought our field would go through a moment of deep recession, but we have never, and I am being very honest, we've never been so busy. Everyone with some financial backing in Brazil and outside is investing in the quality of their homes like never //above; JY House in Porto Feliz, Brazil. before. The family has never coexisted Photographer : Fernando Guerra so much and so intensely as in this check out full project on period. www.designessentiamagazine.com My creative process assumes that, in architecture, the whole is always greater AD : THE WORLD IS NOW SLOWLY REALIZING than the sum of its parts. The quality of THE SERIOUSNESS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE. the whole is a consequence of the care WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE given to all the details of our design. For IN ARCHITECTURE TODAY? this reason, my attention is directed to all scales, from the building to the AC : In our projects we aggregate design and architectural furniture. resources that allow us to make the durable and sustainable to the most through high quality building The Studio's projects are harmonious systems. To achieve this, we count on a multidisciplinary and generate empathy. We think about team for each project, capable of creating many solution the projects taking into account the possibilities, based on circular economy and reuse systems experience that the client will have in concepts. This way, it is possible to create new experiences the space. Our architecture is designed for the users and guarantee each project's high quality and to enhance the experience of those who sustainability. will enjoy it. check out full interview on www.designessentiamagazine.com 38 | May - June 2021 Edition//Design Essentia//DE INDIA