Dezeen Magazine

Underground bar with brown leather seating and green walls

Goiva places pub under renovated São Paulo house

Local architecture studio Goiva has renovated a white brick house and added a pub-like social space to its basement in São Paulo, Brazil.

Located in the Pinheiros district on the west side of São Paulo, Casa Yuji is a 2,150-square-foot (200-square metre), two-bedroom house tucked into a 1,500-square foot (140-square metre) infill lot in the dense neighbourhood.

Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Goiva renovated the white brick Casa Yuji

Architects Karen Evangelisti and Marcos Mendes from Goiva completed the renovation of the 40-year-old house in 2023.

In order to restructure an old house for a young person with a modern lifestyle, Goiva "opened up and integrated the spaces to create a contemporary architecture, but at the same time maintain the structure of a village house, typical of the neighbourhood where it is located".

Back yard at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
The home is made from white-painted brick and board-formed concrete

A tall black privacy gate protects the street-side courtyard and opens to a three-storey white house with a flat roof that extends beyond the perimeter walls.

The team saved some of the original exterior walls and roof, reconfiguring an open interior and punching large cantilevered windows through the front facade, which form window-box benches on the interior.

Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva with window seats
Cantilevered windows form benches in the home's interior

"The concrete volumes of the windows stand out in the landscape, both for those who live in the house, bringing more light and space to the interior, and for those who walk around the neighborhood, and can see a little of the atmosphere of the residence," the team said.

The material palette is simple with white painted brick, smooth and board-formed concrete, and warm wood.

Outdoor wood decking at a white brick house in Sao Paulo
A concrete block extends the kitchen and barbeque area

The home's solidity is set off by delicate metal details like stair-stepping black downspouts and thin white railings, as well as patterned surfaces like a Portuguese mosaic.

On the ground level, the rooms and corridors were opened up – adding a new supporting structure – to create one large social space that looks out onto the landscaped patio garden, which forms an insulated microclimate and adds privacy around the house.

Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva with underground car parking
Parking space was added to the basement

"Changing the structure of the house, modernizing its daily life and use without interfering with the old language and history was by far our biggest challenge," Mendes said.

The team extended the kitchen and barbecue area with a new concrete block that connects to a rear deck and forms a terrace on the upper level.

The open plan is divided by a monolithic concrete stair that climbs up to the private areas of the house.

The top floor contains two bedrooms and a bathroom, which bring in light through circular, pivoting windows.

Living space with a concrete block staircase and outdoor area
An open-plan social space is on the ground floor

Simple furnishings adorn the interiors with furniture from national artists like Gustavo Bittencourt, Guilherme Wentz and Estúdio Bola.

From the back deck, a sculptural steel spiral staircase descends into an excavated basement that holds a small pub-like social space for entertaining.

Living room with wooden window frame seat at Casa Yuji
Wood details were added to the home

Large leather and wood banquets hold one wall with small café tables and leather chairs sitting in the centre of the room.

A matte black band runs around the top of the wall and holds lighting that washes down the pale sage green walls and tile.

White spiral staircase leading to a basement with a bar
A spiral staircase leads to an underground pub

Floor-to-ceiling glass wall recedes completely opening the pub to an intimate subterranean garden.

The basement level also contains a parking area that ramps back up to the street level.

Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
A black privacy gate conceals a courtyard

The team credited the biggest success of the project to its simplicity.

"From the outside, the atmosphere of simplicity, the cleanliness of the spaces, the unity and continuity of the rooms is what stands out," Goiva said.

Other recent renovations in São Paulo include an apartment with an exposed ceiling by Pascali Semerdijan Arquitectos and an overhauled apartment with green tiles by Casulo.

The photography is by Maira Acayaba.


Project credits:

Manufacturers: Boobam, Casulo Design, Deca, Guilherme Wentz, Gustavo Bittencourt, Jmar, Ladrilar, Lurca, Portobello, REKA, Wentz Design, estudiobola, kitchens
Project team: Karen Evangelisti, Marcos Mendes
Stairs: ICC Escadas
Landscape Design: Teco Paisagismo

More images

Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Open-plan kitchen with concrete staircase at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Kitchen at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Open-plan living space at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
White staircase in a Sao Paulo home
Open-plan living space with concrete staircase
Open-plan living space with a concrete block staircase
Living room with wood window frame seat
Sliding glass doors at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
White bathroom with a circular window
Wooden seat in a window
Wooden seat in a window at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Outdoor terrace at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
White spiral staircase at Casa Yuji by Goiva
White spiral staircase and wood decking
Outdoor yard at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Bathroom with square white wall tiles
Terrace at Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Casa Yuji in Sao Paulo by Goiva
Home bar with brown leather seats and green walls