CASACOR RJ 2015: A little bit of the history of Villa Aymoré

Casa Cor Rio de Janeiro 2015 is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has many surprises in store for this edition, starting with its headquarters. For the first time, the Rio de Janeiro exhibition will be held in a village with nine houses: the historic Villa Aymoré. Built at the beginning of the 20th century for the bourgeoisie of the time, the house had its moments of glory and, as time went by, it was forgotten and abandoned. The place, which had ten semi-detached houses, had the last of them completely ruined. The rest of the properties were also in terrible condition. But in 2010, Landmark Properties acquired the villa and began a process of restoration and renovation of the site. Since 2011, the works have been carried out by Raf Arquitetura and executed by Lafem Engenharia – and closely monitored by archaeologists and the Rio Heritage Institute of Humanity.

In addition to the semi-detached houses, the building of the old Tourist Hotel, located at the entrance to the street leading to the Villa, was incorporated into the project; and a new one was built, the Baronesa Building, which was given the outline of the mountain and cobogós. A total constructed area of 9,000 m². “It was a complete renovation. After all, we created a new identity for that building,” says Anibal Sabrosa, managing director of Raf and one of the people responsible for the project. “Our mission was to adapt the houses for a new, completely different use, in a way that would be commercially viable for Landmark. But we also had to respect the past and history of that place,” he adds. In addition to the complete restoration of the eclectic facades, the houses underwent a retrofit that included new installations and reinforcement of their structures. The nine houses will house 40 rooms. The first floor will house the living spaces: living rooms, kitchens, suites, and lofts. The second floor will house the work areas. At Casa Cor Rio 2015, Villa Aymoré will provide good ideas on how to keep both spaces in one place.