In This Brazilian Home, Architecture and Art Shape a Vivid Modern Narrative

When Brazilian industrialist Alexandre Grendene Bartelle and his wife, philanthropist Nora Teixeira, commissioned designers Sig Bergamin and Murilo Lomas to transform their Porto Alegre residence, they presented a brief shaped by ambition and an exceptional art collection. Their home needed to function not only as a place of comfort but also as an architectural stage for works by Anish Kapoor, Manolo Valdés, Carole Feuerman, Pablo , and Fernando Botero. Each artwork required its own presence, yet the overall space needed to remain fluid, modern, and deeply livable.

The couple favours a palette defined by bold, uplifting color. Blue, green, red, and yellow were central to their vision, guiding the designers from the very first sketches. After nearly two decades of friendship and collaboration, Bergamin and Lomas were intimately familiar with their clients’ rhythm and taste. The result is a home where color is an architectural principle, shaping how light moves and how each artwork breathes.

To achieve this, the designers relied on what they describe as a complementary dialogue between the furniture and the art. Statement pieces by Van der Straeten act as sculptural companions to the surrounding collection, neither competing nor retreating. Instead, they expand the visual language of the space, forming a coherent narrative where the boundary between art and design becomes intentionally indistinct.

Architecture carries the same expressive weight. The helix staircase, a sweeping sculptural gesture, anchors the residence and defines its spatial rhythm. It emphasises movement as a design element and introduces a sense of vertical choreography that connects the rooms in a continuous visual arc.

Yet it is the swimming pool that becomes the apartment’s most arresting feature. Elevated above the living area and constructed with glass sourced from Austria, its transparent bottom transforms the ceiling into an unexpected window. Completed over two years, the pool turns the act of swimming into a moment of performance visible from below, merging pleasure with architecture in a way that feels both playful and meticulously engineered.

Light plays a central role in the way this home unfolds. Sliding doors open the living spaces entirely onto broad terraces, allowing interior and exterior to merge into one uninterrupted environment. The abundant natural light softens the bold palette, revealing its nuance and depth as the day progresses. In Brazil’s climate, these vivid tones feel instinctive, evoking the optimism and brightness of the landscape that surrounds the city.

Furnishings reinforce the residence’s layered aesthetic. A Frame dining table by Jader Almeida sits alongside chairs by Patrick Naggar for Ralph Pucci. A custom rug by Vitrine grounds the room, while lighting pieces by Ingo Maurer add sculptural illumination. Nearby, a Botero sculpture and a painting by Nabil Nahas complete the composition with quiet authority.

Each element in this residence serves a purpose within a greater narrative of light, color, and form. Bergamin and Lomas have created a home that operates as both sanctuary and gallery, where architecture, art, and design coexist without hierarchy. The result is a space defined by clarity of vision and by the confidence to let bold ideas unfold in harmony.