Muxarabi House was originally designed by Vilanova Artigas in 1956 and renovated by Ana Sawaia Arquitetura.
But this renovation is not about making the house look new.
It is about allowing it to breathe again.
The original house already had a strong architectural idea: a white rectangular volume raised on pilotis, organized by a clear concrete grid, with bedrooms protected by a continuous muxarabi screen.
This screen is not just a facade detail. It filters light, softens heat, protects privacy, creates shadow, and gives the house its identity.
The renovation preserves this logic while opening the ground floor to contemporary life. Internal partitions were removed, the living room, dining room and kitchen became more connected, and large glass doors brought the garden into the social spaces.
Muxarabi House shows that renovating a modern work does not have to mean erasing the past or freezing it like a museum piece.
Sometimes, the best intervention is the one that understands what was already strong — and lets the house breathe again through light, garden, shadow, and time.
Architects: Ana Sawaia Arquitetura
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Area: 411 sqm
Year: 2025
Photography: Nelson Kon
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