entre escalas builds a tiny pink swimming house in vila mariana

casa vila mariana: a townhouse renovated in são paulo

In São Paulo‘s residential district of Vila Mariana, this newly renovated and expanded townhouse exemplifies the innovative vision of Brazilian architecture studio Entre Escalas. The design process of Casa Vila Mariana began with the fusion of two semi-detached houses, shaping a home-studio for a budding young artist. The initial renovation focused on essential aspects, introducing structural enhancements along with refining spaces such as the kitchen, bathrooms, a laundry room, and a shaded swimming pool. The new volume and the side walls of Entre Escalas’ expansion is finished with a distinctive mineral paint in captivating pink hues, while the swimming pool evokes an earthy elegance with its natural green stone facade. The interplay of light throughout the day floods the space with dynamic water reflections.

images © Pedro Kok

the pink room over the swimming pool

With the studio now relocated, the architects at Entre Escalas embark on a fresh architectural project, redefining the internal spaces of Casa Vila Mariana. The objective was clear — to enhance integration, establish new structural supports, and forge connections between the interior and exterior realms. The project envisions a dwelling flooded with natural light and refreshed by natural breezes. A key transformation unfolds in the courtyard, where a new structure emerges, housing a small, shaded swimming pool backdropped by a stair which leads to an elevated laundry room. The neighboring volume, framed from the living room, comprises voids, folds, and openings, giving rise to diverse spatial experiences. Inside, the staircase evolves into a pivotal architectural feature to merge both form and function.

Entre Escalas merges two houses into a home-studio in Vila Mariana, São Paulo

potted Greenery blooms throughout

Amidst Casa Vila Mariana’s transformation, Entre Escalas introduces a thoughtful touch was added to embrace existing flora. A concrete planter emerges, cradling the resilient rib-of-damon vegetation that weathered the construction storm. On the upper floor of the main volume, structural barriers dissolve as the wall dividing two front rooms vanish, resulting in a unified haven for the couple’s bedroom. New carpentry graces the space, complementing the exposed wooden structure uncovered by the removal of the stucco ceiling. This careful interplay of greenery and sustainable design define specific interventions in the existing inhabited structure, coupled with the construction of a discreet annex at the rear of the plot.

a courtyard is transformed with a new structure housing a pool and elevated laundry room
interior partitions are removed to create an open, sunlit renovation
sustainable design meets greenery as concrete planters hold resilient plant-life