Wesley Lemos: the architect who for 20 years has made CASACOR an instrument of social transformation traduzido por: OPENROUTER

Few professionals manage to imprint such a consistent identity across distinct projects as Wesley Lemos. Present at CASACOR for more than two decades, the architect is living one of the most intense moments of his career: in 2026, he signs two projects at CASACOR Bahia, one at CASACOR São Paulo, and is already preparing for the debut of CASACOR Sergipe, scheduled for October 1st. Despite the different aesthetic languages, his projects share the same purpose: to use architecture as a tool for social transformation.

Wesley Lemos - Casa Bem Vivida Electrolux. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

Born in Estância (SE), Wesley makes a point of keeping his roots as the guiding thread of his creations. In Geometria do Afeto, at the Ernesto Bitencourt Art Gallery | Aurelino dos Santos and at Casa Bem Vivida Electrolux, the professional explores themes such as inclusion, ancestry and regionalism, demonstrating that architecture can also preserve memories, provoke reflections, and amplify voices. Below, he talks about inspirations, creative process and the purpose that runs through his work at CASACOR.

Wesley Lemos - Galeria de Arte Ernesto Bitencourt | Aurelino dos Santos. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

1. Tell us about the concept and references of your project at CASACOR São Paulo 2026.

"The space at CASACOR São Paulo is my return to the show after a four-year hiatus. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of this staircase to bring an artistic exhibition design showing a bit of this other side of mine, since besides being an architect and product designer, I am also a curator. It was a great opportunity to create a large installation – where I gathered many independent artists around Parque da Água Branca. I wanted to show visitors that art goes beyond paintings on the wall. It involves the research and intellectuality of the artists, not just matter."

Wesley Lemos - Geometria do Afeto. (Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

2. Tell us about the concept and references of your projects at CASACOR Bahia 2026.

"In Bahia, we delivered two projects. One of them is Casa Bem Vivida Electrolux. We were invited by the brand to sign one of the most important spaces of the show. For me, it was a challenge to talk about design in a space of appliances and technology, while preserving my perspective on history, anthropology, and good living in Bahia. I think the project sums up a maturity of mine and of my office in achieving a result without necessarily imposing any style, without being allegorical. The idea was to strip away the attributes of the property until reaching the original, a nearly 200-year-old mansion.

Along these lines, I have been repeating my curatorial work for the third consecutive year at CASACOR Bahia. This time, we wanted to show visitors who the true artists are that built the modernist and contemporary pillars of Bahia. The peak of this movement was opening the cloister of Casa Nossa Senhora das Mercês, for the first time, to house the Aurelino dos Santos Gallery. He is a master discovered by Lina Bo Bardi in the 1970s and is part of great collections around the world. He is a popular artist, but one who builds his narrative within the urban center – a place different from what we are used to seeing in the arts. Aurelino is one of those men on the margins of society, who develops his own intellectuality and an absolute geometry.

Wesley Lemos - Galeria de Arte Ernesto Bitencourt | Aurelino dos Santos. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

3. The three projects present quite different aesthetics, especially regarding colors. How does each of them relate to the theme Mind and Heart?

"CASACOR's theme aligns very well with what I do in my daily life. I always say that I don't work with decoration, I work from-the-heart. It's as if it comes from my heart to the heart of those who are hiring me, choosing me. I believe this theme dematerializes many things the market has preached for many years: trends, the color of the year, the materials of the year, the artist of the year... What we are looking for now is more truth and less algorithm.

Mind and Heart align in these projects when I seek to translate my Afro-Brazilian ancestry and retell stories. For example, talking about Aurelino at CASACOR Bahia is validating the experience of an illiterate, neurodivergent man, who nevertheless is in no way inferior to someone who went to university. At Casa Electrolux, I lend my own story and bring my personal objects to the space – bringing emotion and showing that I too can enjoy what I have always designed for my clients.

At CASACOR São Paulo, I speak about this place we need to have, as a society, of walking hand in hand, Black men and white men. I'm not interested in coming to a show just to present a trend; what brings me here is discussing the social role of the architect, proving that we can advance with aesthetics, but also with a commitment to social transformation".

Wesley Lemos - Geometria do Afeto. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

4. How is the experience of participating in both shows at the same time, signing three projects?

"It's crazy, but I have so much passion for everything I do. Dedicating myself so much to this work is perhaps a transposition of life phases for me. And I'm still going to do one more CASACOR this year: Sergipe! When I least expect it, I get a call with the invitation.

There, I will sign a living space and a wine cellar. The idea is to bring to the general public the wine culture – which is not only in Italy, it is present in various places in the Americas and Africa too. I will rescue the history of wine as a place of abundance, prosperity, gathering and multiplication".

5. How does your creative process work when developing a project for CASACOR?

"It's a whirlwind, you know? It's not easy, because I'm always traveling. I live in three different places: Aracaju, Salvador and São Paulo. My inspirations come from everything, sometimes from places of love, sometimes of pain. I see many sad news stories about the reality of marginalized people that make up my creative process. My work goes through the cultural, but it also has a very strong social side. My perspectives are very open, so that, who knows, in some way, I can try to overcome and contribute to a better world".

Wesley Lemos - Casa Bem Vivida Electrolux. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

6. What are the tips for curating pieces and works of art well, as you did in your projects?

"I think the first step is to escape commercial complacency, this herd effect. The second is to try to understand what you are using. I only use what I truly fall in love with and, for that, I have to understand. I want to know how it is manufactured, whether it pollutes or not, whether it uses slave labor or not, where it comes from...

Even before becoming an architect, I was always very curious. But, with the profession, came the responsibility to strictly follow what brought me here: the new contemporary languages, sustainability issues, the UN SDGs, the preservation of traditional communities, the handmade work... In addition, I always like to see equity, both racial and gender and age.

It's complex, but once you learn this primer, you decolonize your thinking. There's nothing that reaches you that you don't do this quick X-ray on. This exercise is for anyone, from any field. It's important that you look at an object, situation, or event and be able to see diversity".

Wesley Lemos - Geometria do Afeto. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

7. How do you interpret the importance of talking about ancestry in your work?

"When we talk about ancestry, it's from a place where we can recreate and retell stories through cosmovision [the particular way an individual or group sees, interprets, and responds to the world]. Grada Kilomba, who is a great contemporary artist, says that art is the true place where healing from coloniality can exist. So, this matter of seeking this past that could have been different is also about the desire to create a better future. There's an African saying which is Ubuntu: it's only good for me when it's good for everyone. I still insist on this".

Wesley Lemos - Casa Bem Vivida Electrolux. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

8. After two decades of CASACOR, what would you say to the Wesley who was just starting out?

"I would say: 'It was worth playing so much with little houses'. My games were always like that. I watched my father build all the houses we lived in, with his own hands. There are photos of me as a child carrying bricks, of the group efforts we did with friends to build our houses. It was really worth it and today I can enjoy comfort for myself and my family.

Today I don't build walls, but I build the geometry of affection. I strongly believe that art and design unite, transform, and transcend. Just as it transcended my life, moving from scarcity and today being able to responsibly enjoy my place".

traduzido por: OPENROUTER