Small House, Rio de Janeiro

A petit but pleasing bungalow

This small but enchanting Brazilian house is in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Faced in a grey stone, it features a modest parapet rising from the vertical bands of stone. There are Art Deco motifs carved into the surface of the three central bands that begin at the window lintel. An original metal sunburst screen protects the window.

Sunburst window screen

Apartments (2), São Paulo

The pink place on the corner

Here are two Art Deco apartment blocks found in the older part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. First, the pink one features continuous curving balconies and some nice fenestration to the right with coloured glass and porthole windows. The white building below is in Japantown in the Liberdade district, situated on Rua Galvão Bueno. It has curvy corners and balconies, and steps in gradually at the top.

Mixed commercial and residential

House, Rio de Janeiro

Note the unique metal gate

Though apparently a monochrome grey, this house in central Rio de Janeiro was originally white and simply needs the grime cleaned off of it. It is a singular creation, with details such as zig-zag glazing up the sides of the windows, and a one of the reliefs set in an octagonal cartouche.

Apartments, São Paulo

Brilliant Art Deco in Brazil’s largest city

This is an interesting eight storey apartment block in central São Paulo. It has a variety of period details and features slot windows and curving balconies. The neighbouring building, visible on the right in the photo below, also has curving balconies, as well as porthole windows.

Curved balconies all round

Department of Tourism, São Paulo

View of part of the façade

The building where the Department of Tourism of the State of São Paulo (Secretaria de Turismo do Estado de São Paulo) now resides was originally constructed for the 1938 Banco de São Paulo. Located at Praça Antonio Prado 9, it was designed by the architect Álvaro de Arruda Botelho. This building is composed of two interconnected wings, one twelve storeys high and the other sixteen. The façade is extensively decorated with Art Deco designs created from materials such as granite, marble, and bronze.

A metal window grill with plant forms
A variety of Art Deco motifs
Another view of the lower façade

Edifício Itahy, Rio de Janeiro

A spectacular entrance in Copacabana.

If you ever decide to visit Rio de Janeiro you will have to visit Copacabana beach, and maybe you will stay in the area. If this should happen you will inevitably encounter the Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana as it is one of the most important thoroughfares in the area. Check out the building at number 252 which is called Edifício Itahy, constructed in 1932. It was designed by São Paulo born architect Arnaldo Gladosch, and the spectacular entrance watched over by the dark haired mermaid you see here was created in 1935 by Luiz Correia de Araújo.

The mermaid of Itahy.

Clube Náutico Capibaribe, Recife

A Brazilian sports club.

These distinctive, sweeping curves belong to Clube Náutico Capibaribe, a sports club located on the Avenida Conselheiro Rosa e Silva, in the Aflitos district of Recife, a seaside city in in the northeast of Brazil. Initially a rowing club, hence the name, it is best known for its football team, often abbreviated to Náutico, which plays in the national Série B league.

A curving cornice on the central tower.

Igreja de Santa Terezinha, Rio de Janeiro

Façade of Igreja de Santa Terezinha.

Known locally as the ‘Igreja de Santa Terezinha do menino Jesus’, or ‘Church of Saint Teresa of the boy Jesus’, this church was opened in 1935. It was designed by the architects Arquimedes Memória and Francisque Cuchet who blessed it with a stunning modern bell tower. The painter Carlos Oswaldo provided it with stained glassed windows and mosaiacs. It also has a dynamic location being next to a main road that leads from the edge of the Botafogo neighbourhood and into the tunnel to Copacabana. It became a listed heritage building in 1996.

Detail of Igreja de Santa Terezinha.

Edificio Bororos, Sao Paulo

Edificio Bororos.

This is the Bororos Building, an Art Deco apartment block in the centre of the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three storeys high it features a row of five horizontal bezels top centre, along with curving balconies with horozontal bar motifs. It was probably constructed in the 1930s.

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