March 7, 2020

Brazilian Architect Duo Opens Atelier 1901 to Mentor Recent Graduates

Custom workstations by Daysi Design, with task chairs by Cavaletti, form rows in front of two phone booths with Erwin Zaidowicz’s wallpaper by JVN Products. Photography by Eduardo Macarios

It can tough, after graduation, to know what kind of work you’d like to do—and where you’d like to do it. For recent architecture and urban planning graduates in Curitiba, Brazil, there’s now a good solution for the second dilemma: Atelier 1901. Architects Ismael Gustavo Zanardini and Thatiane Botto de Barros, partners at Studio BaZa Architecture and Interior Design, conceived the 2,200-square-foot project as a hub. “We are a community,” says Zanardini, “a space for collaboration and exchange of experiences.”

Custom wall tiles by Rômulo Lass reproduce the geography of Praça Osório, the 1940s square in front of the building. Photography by Eduardo Macarios.

Located in a 1940s building just off Praça Osório, the space mixes 21st-century co-working amenities with 20th-century details such as the original parquet floors. Here, both open-plan office space and private phone booths are available for professional mentoring via Atelier 1901’s network of technical and artistic partners.

“Our goal,” explains Botto de Barros, “is to empower these young professionals in a place where they can develop their skills and establish themselves in the initial steps of their careers, not fearing possible mistakes.” In other words, where to show up on Monday mornings.

Sergio and Jack Fahrer designed the armchairs near the custom banquettes. Photography by Eduardo Macarios.
Custom cabinets by Daysi Design surround a backsplash of tiles by Rômulo Lass; the sink is Decorea and the faucet by Deca. Photography by Eduardo Macarios.
The secretary’s desk is by Maria José Carneiro and the chair is by Sergio and Jack Fahrer, both for Momentum. Photography by Eduardo Macarios.
In a bathroom, a Tok & Stok mirror hangs above a Decorea sink and Deca faucet. Photography by Eduardo Macarios.

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