BLOCO Architects designed the 600-square-meter (approx. 6,458 square feet) Casa Galeria as a gallery concept that allows the residents to live immersed within a piece of art that also houses their collection of art. One of the most unique features of the house is its roof structure. Five massive inverted beams gracefully span a 12-meter-wide roof, creating the central area of the house known as “the gallery.” This space, which effortlessly blurs the boundaries between art and daily living, serves as a multifunctional area, accommodating a living room, dining room, kitchen, balcony, and a garage.

Outside, a tile panel, named after the owner, Bárbara, showcases a pattern in shades of blue and white tiles, offering a striking contrast to the pristine white walls. In the bathrooms, tiles in vibrant colors – green, yellow, and orange – adorn the walls, following the same design pattern used throughout the interior.

Casa Galeria’s design doesn’t stop at functionality and art preservation – it extends into the layout of the house. Two open linear gardens divide the living spaces, while adding biophilic elements. The first garden, closer to the street, sits between the solar protection wall and the central living area’s windows. The second one delineates the social area from the bedroom hall.

The story of Casa Galeria is also intertwined with the rich history of Brasília. An iconic Athos Bulcão panel, originally designed for a house by the legendary Oscar Niemeyer, finds a new home next to the internal linear garden at the entrance. The Foundation responsible for the artist’s work permitted the panel’s relocation.

The interior design of Casa Galeria, also masterminded by BLOCO Architects, allows the family’s art collection to take center stage. The architects opted for neutral materials and colors to create a serene backdrop that enhances the artworks’ presence. The house boasts custom tile panels crafted by Brazilian artist João Henrique, adding an extra layer of uniqueness to the space.

To protect the invaluable art pieces from the harsh Brazilian sun, the architects designed a large wall, slightly elevated from the floor that’s supported by the same pillars as the main beams. The element shields the entire space while allowing soft, diffused natural light to seep in through the open garden, creating a tranquil ambiance.

In the main living space, a long white counter, which looks as if it’s suspended, separates the room while performing multiple functions as a kitchen, workspace, and dining table. A skylight aligned with the counter floods the room with natural light during daylight hours.

To maintain a sense of continuity and neutrality throughout, the house features the same brushed gray granite floor in all rooms, including the outdoor areas and the pool.

Photography by Joana França.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Furniture maker Fyrn builds on a unique heritage of craft with The Keyhole Collection – expanding their current range of seating to include a dining table and bench. Deceptively simple in aesthetic, the inimitable design is an expansion and scaling of the proprietary hardware used in their previous seating options.

At the helm are designer and fourth generation woodworker, Ros Broughton, and Fyrn’s Co-Founder David Charne who have spent over a decade testing the elasticity of these limits. The new architecture marries their interpretation of the classic trestle with custom connections elevating the series from home furnishings to structural art – striking yet utilitarian.

“It made a lot of sense for tables to be a priority for us given that seating was where we started. That definitely drove some of these choices,” says Charne. And the company consults with architects and designers alike to stay abreast of client needs. ”We foster a feedback loop with those professionals as to what’s resonating with consumers and what features customers most desire. And so, I think there’s this balance for us between making sure we’re creating elevated pieces and the support from adjacent professions.”

The dining table forgoes traditional apron-to-leg joinery to articulate connections with a visible gap between the wooden legs and tabletop. This visual que is indicative of its functional role, which allows for efficient manufacturing, flat packing, and ease of assembly. Now unencumbered, the linear base allots more room for those seated while the floating, solid-wood surface optimizes dining space.

The accompanying bench shares the same structural and aesthetic DNA but with a varied application for interior design solutions to include flanking the dining table, seamless integration with other Fyrn seating options, and the ability to anchor other spaces independently. The collection is available in Natural Oak, Black Walnut, and Oxidized Oak oil finishes with Copper Bronze or Graphite Brackets, to start.

Keyhole celebrates the broader implications of Fyrn’s patented, proprietary architecture and design practices that are inherently sustainable. “The hardware system allows us to put a very strong, durable connection in areas where other furniture is prone to failure. And it also really allows us to use material efficiently when it comes to hardwoods,” says Broughton. “It helps us think about a circular product in the sense that it’s very easily repaired if the need rises, or refurbished if somebody were to decide that the furniture was no longer for them.”

Creativity knows no bounds in Fyrn’s Mission District studio as the company not only hand-crafts their products, but also the proprietary equipage. “Once we had a design that we loved, I then had to figure out how to turn around and produce it. And certain machinery we needed to do so did not exist, so we had to design, engineer, and build it,” says Broughton. Constantly developing, building, and modifying equipment affords them the ability to cut and create complex joinery in perpetuity.

“One of the things we’re learning as we start bringing more products to market is the fact that we’re producing hardware internally and that it fits within our system of design. It differentiates Fyrn’s products in a way that is not copied and would be too difficult to do so,” says Charne. “And if you really get into the nuts and bolts of the brackets, you’ve got aerospace level tolerances on furniture being used in homes and restaurants. And that’s just really hard to replicate.” It’s going to take time for furniture design imbued with such thought and care to permeate consumer culture in a way where the aspirational replaces the disposable. “I think that long-term, there’s a huge opportunity for what we’re doing to be inspirational to other industrial designers and the furniture industry as a whole.”

Fyrn Co-Founders

To learn more about The Keyhole Collection, visit fyrn.com.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.