Ritzwell warms up a brutalist house in Portugal
Brand story by Harriet Thorpe
Fukuoka, Japan
15.09.22
Ritzwell's furniture catalogue combines powerful forms with natural materials, providing warming comfort to the open living spaces of Serôdio Furtado Arquitectos' imposing Casa Pátio em Miramar.
Ritzwell furniture softly punctuates the interior of this modern house; pictured in the foreground, the Jabara sideboard
![Ritzwell warms up a brutalist house in Portugal | News](https://image.architonic.com/sto3-1/20276533/MMF-LFA-20220519-084-arcit18.jpg)
Ritzwell furniture softly punctuates the interior of this modern house; pictured in the foreground, the Jabara sideboard
×This brutal, geometric house in Portugal by Serôdio Furtado Arquitectos was designed as a protective platform for living, immersed in lush nature and coastal views. The house’s furniture needed to bring warmth, comfort and domesticity – as well as a powerful presence worthy of the modernist style inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s Butantã House.
From living room, to dining room and bedroom; Ritzwell’s JK coffee table, Jabara sideboard, MCM dining table, MO coffee table and Diana single-seater sofa
![Ritzwell warms up a brutalist house in Portugal | News](https://image.architonic.com/sto3-1/20276533/MMF-LFA-20220519-065-arcit18.jpg)
From living room, to dining room and bedroom; Ritzwell’s JK coffee table, Jabara sideboard, MCM dining table, MO coffee table and Diana single-seater sofa
×Ritzwell’s designs – which combine natural materials, Japanese elegance and European modern forms – rose to the challenge. 'They express the idea of comfort in a very strong way,' says architect João Pedro Serôdio. Take the Diana one-seater sofa, made of soft, natural-hued cloth, leather and smooth walnut, which curves to encompass the body: 'It has a timeless character independent from the house, yet it fits the ambience,' says Serôdio.
They were able to successfully punctuate the expansive open-plan living spaces of exposed concrete and marble. For example, the Jabara sideboard with its sliding tambour door and thick leather panels has a strong form for dividing space, yet also provides an organic nature.
The architecture of the house presents a platform for living in the landscape
The ability of Ritzwell’s furniture to harmonise between architecture and life was central to the concept: 'The house is the sum of two parts, the protection and the life – and the total is somehow immaterial,' says Serôdio.
Architecture and Design: João Pedro Serôdio / Studio Serôdio, Furtado & Associados
Photos © Marta Maria Ferreira / Luís Ferreira Alves
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