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How to Integrate Your Apartment’s Kitchen: 25 Interior Renovations in Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador


Beyond the wide variety of landscape, environmental, economic, social, and cultural particularities that distinguish each region of Latin America, the renovation of interior spaces that make up domestic life generally focuses on achieving the greatest possible integration of environments along with providing flexibility, spaciousness, and better conditions for ventilation and natural lighting. Seeking to revalue unused spaces and/or give them a second life, renovations aim to transform the ways of living through strategies capable of involving the restoration of materials, the preservation of structures, the maintenance of installations, and more.

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Adopting various methodologies of organization and distribution, contemporary apartment projects with integrated kitchen layouts or where the kitchen is the center of attention focus on achieving harmonious coexistence and interaction with other social spaces in the homes. By blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, establishing movable partitions, or using separating furniture, architecture professionals deploy their conception of living according to the needs of the inhabitants, taking into account an aesthetic that balances materials, colors, furniture, infrastructure, textures, scales, among other factors.

CVU Apartment / Flipê Arquitetura. Image © Carolina Lacaz

Considering that kitchens are influenced by cultures, customs, and traditions from various parts of the world, their role as a hub for tasks and a meeting place in the domestic space reflects the essence of those who inhabit them. In Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador, very diverse culinary practices have developed, likely due to the availability of resources, raw materials, and technologies, among other factors. Achieving spatial continuity and efficiency for the well-being and comfort of people through interior renovation represents an opportunity to improve everyone’s quality of life.


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Open Kitchens: Elements that Enhance Interaction and Flexibility


Based on 25 contemporary apartment renovations, we propose to focus on the interior design of kitchens, discovering the strategies and tools that architecture professionals in Latin America use to integrate these environments with the rest of the house.

33 Apartment / Soek Arquitetura. Image © Carolina Lacaz

How to Design an Integrated Kitchen in Small Spaces?

While there are multiple ways to integrate kitchens with living rooms and dining areas, the challenge of having limited spaces, where every square meter must be maximized to accommodate more than one function at a time, requires knowing which materials, furniture systems, dimensions, and even future installations the spaces will need. In terms of apartment renovations, the presence of structural and/or building pre-existences can sometimes restrict or limit the projected interventions. However, strategies designed to achieve greater fluidity in circulation, increased lighting, spaciousness, and flexibility should not be affected. In kitchens, a linear layout, whether integrated or not into the apartment’s furniture, helps maximize interiors while meeting the needs of its inhabitants.

José Mármol Refurbishment / Micaela Racca

José Mármol Refurbishment / Micaela Racca. Image © Javier Agustín Rojas

BE Apartment / MZNO

BE Apartment / MZNO. Image © Felco

33 Apartment / Soek Arquitetura

33 Apartment / Soek Arquitetura. Image © Carolina Lacaz

Twins Apartment / Paralelo 30 Arquitetura

Twins Apartment / Paralelo 30 Arquitetura. Image © Marcelo Donadussi

Apartamento Andradas / OCRE arquitectura

Andradas Apartment / OCRE arquitetura. Image © Cristiano Bauce

JS Apartment / EB Arquitetos

JS Apartment / EB Arquitetos. Image © Joana França

Which Enclosures Contribute to the Design of Integrated Kitchens?

Contemporary domestic life undergoes immense transformations daily due to technological, generational, climatic, and other variables. Designing everyday spaces with the present in mind while considering a future vision helps interpret societal demands by understanding the concept of opening and closing spaces according to the use and need of each moment. While the application of movable closures—sliding, folding, swinging, pivoting, stacking, among others—allows for the isolation of noises and smells in kitchen spaces, it also acts as an integrator of environments, providing a complete visual and allowing for the development of complementary activities simultaneously. In apartment interior renovations, selecting suitable materials that interact with the elements of the existing building often forms part of the design definition and premise. Metal, wood, or translucent structures help integrate kitchen spaces by combining colors, textures, and patterns.

Itamarati 91 / Adriana Bersou

Itamarati 91 / Adriana Bersou. Image © Fernando Crescenti

Abboud Apartment / FGMF

Abboud Apartment / FGMF. Image © Fran Parente

Flamengo Apartment / Nop Arquitetura

Flamengo Apartment / Nop Arquitetura. Image © Juliano Colodeti – MCA Estúdio

DN Apartament / BC Arquitetos

DN Apartment / BC Arquitetos. Image © Denilson Machado

The Baronesa Apartment / Lucia Manzano Arquitetura + Paisagismo

The Baronesa Apartment / Lucia Manzano Arquitetura + Paisagismo. Image © Maura Mello

Lausanne Apartment / Mana arquitetura + Cru Estudio de Criação

Lausanne Apartment / Mana arquitetura + Cru Estudio de Criação. Image © Carolina Lacaz

Aurora Apartment / CoDA Arquitetura

Aurora Apartment / CoDA Arquitetura. Image © Paula Caruso

How to Optimize the Use of Kitchen Islands and Countertops?

When designing an integrated kitchen, the distribution of cabinets, storage spaces, lighting fixtures, or kitchen utensils plays an important role that directly influences the experience of its users. Providing dynamism and optimization to the interiors, apartment renovations that combine their islands with breakfast bars, kitchen countertops, appliances, or other culinary elements can free up space for other activities or for moving around and accessing other areas. By adopting suitable dimensions or using different levels, materials, or movement systems, kitchen islands and countertops can improve workflow efficiency by allowing greater accessibility to all spaces.

Copan D Apartment / Estúdio BRA Arquitetura

Copan D Apartment / Estúdio BRA Arquitetura. Image © Maíra Acayaba

Caramelo Apartment / CoDA Arquitetura

Caramelo Apartment / CoDA Arquitetura. Image © Júlia Tótoli

Bananeira Apartment / Angá Arquitetura + Estúdio Pedro Luna

Bananeira Apartment / Angá Arquitetura + Estúdio Pedro Luna. Image © Maíra Acayaba

Operations Within Apartments / Natura Futura Arquitectura

Operations Within Apartments / Natura Futura Arquitectura. Image © Gianni Di Giuseppe

Barão de Tatuí penthouse / Pianca Arquitetura + Sabiá Arquitetos

Barão de Tatuí penthouse / Pianca Arquitetura + Sabiá Arquitetos. Image © Pedro Kok

RR Apartment / Nati Minas & Studio + Flipê Arquitetura

RR Apartment / Nati Minas & Studio + Flipê Arquitetura. Image © Gabriela Mestriner

EC Apartment / DT Estúdio

EC Apartment / DT Estúdio. Image © Evelyn Müller

Brigadeiro Apartament / Nommo Arquitetos

Brigadeiro Apartament / Nommo Arquitetos. Image © Brenda Pontes

Apartment 02 / Hugo Oliveira Arquitetura

Apartment 02 / Hugo Oliveira Arquitetura. Image © Haruo Mikami

Cervantes Building / Grizzo Studio

Cervantes Building / Grizzo Studio. Image © Federico Kulekdjian

Taquinho Apartment / Lez Arquitetura

Taquinho Apartment / Lez Arquitetura. Image © Júlia Tótoli

415N Apartment / CoDA

415N Apartment / CoDA. Image © Júlia Tótoli

This article is part of an ArchDaily series that explores features of interior architecture, from our own database of projects. Every month, we will highlight how architects and designers are utilizing new elements, new characteristics and new signatures in interior spaces around the world. As always, at ArchDaily, we highly appreciate the input of our readers. If you think we should mention specific ideas, please submit your suggestions.

This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Refurbishment, proudly presented by Sto.
Extending the lifespan of buildings reduces cost and environmental impact, avoiding demolition or more substantial interventions in the future. Sto’s products for facades, facade refurbishment, crack repair, waterproofing, and concrete restoration systems are used on heritage buildings, adaptive reuse projects, renovations and maintenance of new buildings all over the world. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.





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