Kaiserstraße Apartments, Vila Formosa, Santa Catarina homes, New Brazilian residences design images
Kaiserstraße Apartments, Vila Formosa, Santa Catarina Homes
25 August 2025
Architects: Alencar
Location: Vila Formosa, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Photos by Leonardo Finotti
Kaiserstraße Apartments, Santa Catarina, Brazil Homes
Kaiserstraße is a seven-unit residential building that redefines urban housing by blending the privacy and richness of a house – verandas, courtyards, vegetation – with the advantages of vertical living. Located on a historic avenue once lined with villas, the building uses parametric design to create stepped, dynamic forms that maximize natural light and airflows.
Although the architects were given creative freedom, the design had to comply with strict planning regulations, including a setback requirement proportional to the building’s height. These constraints led to a form that compresses as it rises, generating generous setbacks, terraces, and unique floorplans.
This allowed each apartment to feel more like an individual house, with floor-to-ceiling glazing on all façades. Each apartment occupies a full floor with terraces, private pools, and integrated planters that allow mature trees to grow from the slabs, turning the façade into a living vertical garden, enhancing biodiversity and the street’s microclimate.
In a context dominated by walls and gates, the open ground floor is a deliberate urban gesture, removing barriers to foster social interaction and reconnect private and public realms. The project integrates passive and active strategies to minimize operational carbon. Apartments are designed for natural ventilation and optimal sunlight exposure, while material choices prioritize durability, local sourcing, and low embodied carbon.
In line with this commitment to openness and shared experience, the design deliberately refrains from assigning the rooftop (typically the most privileged area of a residential building) to a single unit. Instead, it transforms this space into a communal amenity, featuring the building’s swimming pool, a gathering area for residents, and a contemplative spot with expansive views. This decision reinforces the project’s broader vision: architecture as a catalyst for collective living and inclusive urban spaces.
This project redefines vertical living as generous, adaptable, and deeply connected to nature and city, offering a balanced coexistence of privacy and community.
What was the rationale behind transforming the rooftop into a communal amenity, and how does this decision align with the project’s vision of collective living?
The decision to transform the rooftop into a communal amenity stemmed from the project’s commitment to openness and collective living. Rather than reserving the most privileged space for a single unit, the rooftop was conceived as a shared area with a pool, gathering space, and panoramic views. This gesture reinforces the building’s vision of balancing privacy with community, creating opportunities for social interaction while redefining urban housing as generous and inclusive.
What was the motivation behind the open ground floor design, and how does it aim to foster social interaction and reconnect private and public realms?
The open ground floor was motivated by a desire to break from the prevalent urban trend of walls and gates, fostering a more generous interface with the city. By removing barriers, the design reconnects private and public realms, encourages visual and spatial continuity, and creates opportunities for social interaction, allowing residents and passersby to engage with the building and its landscaped outdoor spaces.
How does Kaiserstraße redefine urban housing, and what inspired the blend of privacy and vertical living in its design?
Kaiserstraße redefines urban housing by merging the privacy and richness of a house—verandas, courtyards, and vegetation—with the advantages of vertical living. Each apartment occupies a full floor with terraces, private pools, and integrated planters, creating a vertical garden. The design was inspired by the historic villas of Alameda Rio Branco, reinterpreting their openness and connection to nature within a contemporary, high-densi
Kaiserstraße Apartments in Santa Catarina, Brazil homes – Property Information
Architects: Alencar – https://www.alencar.com.br/
Landscape Architects: Ja8 arquitetura viva
Visual Communication: Nitsche Arquitetos
Project size: 4973 sqm
Site size: 1335 sqm
Project budget USD 7,000,000
Completion date: 2025
Building levels: 10
Photographer: Leonardo Finotti
Kaiserstraße Apartments, Vila Formosa, Santa Catarina images / information received 250825
Location: Criciuma, Santa Catarina, Brazil, South America.
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