Exposed pipes painted pastel tones and a burnt pink ceiling are among the details Brazilian studio SuperLimão added during the renovation of an apartment in downtown São Paulo.

RF Apartment is located inside the modernist Saint Honoré Building building, completed in 1958 by Brazilian architect Artacho Jurado.
The local studio designed the renovation for a couple interested in art, architecture and photography who wanted to reconfigure the layout to make it better suited for hosting social gatherings.

The architects responded by demolishing walls to a corridor to create a large open-plan living and dining room for entertaining.
Despite updating the former layout, the architects wanted to preserve many of the interior's existing historical elements. "The project sought to maintain the maximum of existing finishes to enhance the history of the place," said Super Limão.
In the main living area stripped back surfaces reveal existing structures that the architects left untouched in the redesign. Edges of the entryways were also peeled back to leave large chunks of plaster and brick exposed.
A series of pipes fixed on the walls and ceilings are painted a pale blue-green colour, selected to keep the design in line with its original construction.

"For the colour palette we chose shades that dialogue with the time of construction of the building and with the building," the studio added.
The pastel colour contrasts with the burnt pink ceiling over the mai...