2015 Casa Cor Todeschini Pavilion by Studio Guilherme Torres

Architects: Studio Guilherme Torres
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Year: 2015
Area: 4,305 sqft
Photo courtesy: MCA Estudio
Description:

Context:

Original idea, transatlantic inspiration. The maxim “less is more”, coined by the German architect Mies van der Rohe, one of the greatest idols of Torres, paradoxically, is the antithesis of what preached the legendary American decorator Dorothy Draper. For her, more was better. With floors on black and white, fancy boiseries and oversized handles, her ambiance was eccentric, exuberant and glamorous. The story of this pioneering décor merges to the own history of interior design as a professional activity. Her office, where she worked tirelessly from 1920 to 1960, produced a number of iconic projects, including grand hotels. Dorothy also left her mark in Brazil, with the interiors’ signature of “Palácio Quitandinha”, a treasure hidden on the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro.

About the project:

On the 2015 edition of Casa Cor São Paulo, a temporary decoration exhibition which takes place from May 26th to July 12th, the architect Guilherme Torres in a joint venture with the mega corporation Todeschini, a leading furniture company, creates a cosmopolitan, playful and contemporary vision on 400 square meters that revisits the golden days of the Jockey Club building, host of the exhibition and stage of memorable parties of São Paulo high society on its golden years.

In times of austerity and restraint, Guilherme prefers to take the opposite direction and revisit the luxury of a time without dated stigmas, creating his own interpretation of the vision that he shares with the legacy of Dorothy – touches of fantasy and drama, contrasts of black & white and some boldness in the proportions. “I do not like being stuck to my own formulas. I believe shows and exhibitions are an opportunity for escapism, fit for creativity, perfect for free imagination”, according to him.