Paulo Azevedo beyond CASACOR: the repertoire behind projects that tell stories traduzido por: OPENROUTER

Paulo Azevedo delivered his most artistic project among all eleven participations during CASACOR São Paulo 2026. The architect says this was the time he worried the least about the reception and the most about expressing his truth. The great irony (or perhaps, precisely because of this) is that Memories Stitched in Use was one of the biggest successes of the edition, making Paulo Azevedo's name one of the most talked about of the cast.

Paulo Azevedo - Memórias Costuradas em Uso. (Carolina Mossin/CASACOR)

Located near the entrance of the first mansion of CASACOR, the project consisted of a 12 sqm cabin that perfectly translated the theme Mind and Heart by reflecting on accumulated affections, the luxury of inhabiting time, and what remains when everything passes: our memories. Such depth comes from Paulo Azevedo's own vision of architecture — one that is present in so many of his other works beyond the exhibition.

Paulo Azevedo - Memórias Costuradas em Uso. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Carolina Mossin/CASACOR)

CASACOR São Paulo 2026 has come to an end, but talents like this deserve to keep being celebrated. Below, a conversation to get to know Paulo Azevedo beyond Memories Stitched in Use, his inspirations, advice, and more.

1. What were the main challenges of participating in CASACOR 2026? And the main achievements attained since then?

Paulo Azevedo: The main challenge was to create a project that had truth. CASACOR is a place where there is a huge expectation of novelty, of visual impact, of photography. And I wanted to do exactly the opposite: create a space that didn't rely solely on the image, but that had a story and could be lived.

It was also a very intense project from a production standpoint. We worked with a large patchwork structure hand-sewn by six seamstresses, different suppliers, and many elements that needed to speak to each other. Making all of that happen in such a short timeframe demands a lot from the team and, above all, a great deal of adaptability.

The greatest achievement was realizing that the project managed to surpass the idea of 'scenery'. People walked in, wanted to stay, sat down, touched things, looked at the details. For me, that is the best indicator that architecture has worked.

Paulo Azevedo - Memórias Costuradas em Uso. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Carolina Mossin/CASACOR)

2. What was the most special element of your project at CASACOR São Paulo 2026?

P.A.: Without a doubt, the great patchwork tent. It ended up being the synthesis of the project. The fabric was built manually, with scraps and different prints. There is a great beauty in this idea of bringing together fragments that, on their own, might not mean much, but together create a new landscape.

And I think that has a lot to do with the very idea of 'memories stitched in use': a home is also made this way, of objects, memories, trips, people, new things mixed with old things. Nothing needs to match perfectly to make sense.

3. What did you discover doing CASACOR that those on the outside can't even imagine?

P.A.: I discovered that architecture is much less controllable than it seems. When you draw a project on paper, there is a feeling that everything can be predicted. On the construction site, you find out that each material has a personality, each supplier has their own timing, each detail can create a new problem. And, in the end, much of the work is knowing how to choose which battles really matter.

I also discovered how much invisible workbehind a finished image. A photograph of a project may look simple, but there is a huge amount of people, decisions, tests, adjustments and improvisations to arrive at that framing.

Paulo Azevedo - Cabana do Lago. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2024. (Israel Gollino/CASACOR)

4. How does your creative process work when designing a new project?

P.A.: I start much more from the story than from the aesthetics. I like to understand who is going to live in that space, what this person keeps, where they came from, where they travel to, what they like to see, touch, collect. Then I start building a kind of repertoire – with references from architecture, art, fashion, cinema, objects, fabrics, colors.

I don't really believe in starting a project by thinking 'what's the style?'. I prefer to ask 'what is the personality of this place?'. From there, the aesthetics appear almost as a consequence. And I really like the mix. Old with new, sophisticated with simple, a very special piece next to something almost ordinary. I think the most interesting spaces are those that don't look like they came out of a single store.

Projeto de Paulo Azevedo. (Fran Parente/CASACOR)

5. What does an architect need to stand out in today's market?

P.A: I think you need to have repertoire, but you also need to have opinion. Today there is a huge amount of information available and, consequently, a huge number of visually similar projects. It is very easy to know what is in fashion. The hard part is developing your own perspective.

I also think it's essential to know how to communicate that perspective. A good project needs to be good in reality, but we live in a time when it also needs to be able to tell its story.

And, above all, you need to have curiosity. Continue looking at the world, traveling, entering hotels, restaurants, museums, houses, markets, looking at a seemingly ordinary shop window and thinking: 'why does this interest me?'.

Paulo Azevedo - Speakeasy. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2023. Na foto, bar com mesas e cadeiras, piso e parede estampado e quadros. (Marco Antonio/CASACOR)

6. What professional dream would you like to achieve?

P.A.: I want to take my work more and more outside of Brazil and work on projects that are capable of bridging architecture, interiors, objects and hospitality.

I want to design a hotel outside the country where I can participate in everything, from the concept to the last light fixture. A project with a very strong identity, but that doesn't look like an extension of my studio in Brazil.

And I also have a long-standing wish to create a collection of objects and furniture. I find it interesting when the architect manages to step out of the space and design what will inhabit it.

Casa de Paulo Azevedo em São Paulo. (Fran Parente/CASACOR)

7. Recommend a book, film, or even a destination that shaped your creative eye.

P.A.: I would say that Italy, in general, greatly shaped my perspective. Not only because of the architecture, but because of the way Italians coexist with time. A palazzo can have centuries of history, a 1950s chair and a contemporary light fixture, and no one seems worried about making everything look new. There is a naturalness in the coexistence between eras that interests me a lot.

A film I love and that has inspired me for many years is A Single Man, by Tom Ford. I chose to talk about it because it is a film in which the aesthetics never appear separate from the narrative. Every color, every texture, every framing and every object helps build the emotional state of the characters and the atmosphere of the story. The film has a very precise elegance, but at the same time, there is a very strong melancholy and humanity behind that so controlled image.

I think this also comes close to the way I think about spaces. I'm not interested in creating beautiful projects just to be photographed. I like it when beauty is linked to a story, when there is a sense of time, of use, and of life happening there.

traduzido por: OPENROUTER