Lessons in Renovation: Cosentino Remodels the Iconic Cap Ferrat of Ipanema With Dekton

Interior Design & Decor

Published on: January 11th, 2021
5 minutes read

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Ipanema, the iconic stretch of beach in southern Rio de Janeiro has a reputation for beauty. In fact, many a singer past have sung songs of the boys and girl that have sauntered down the sandy runway, from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to the likes of the temptress herself, Eartha Kitt. Ipanema is a landmark, and nestled along the beach are luxurious high rise apartments that encapsulate luxury living.

One such apartment is the Cap Ferrat. Situated in the rather exclusive suburb of Avenida Vieira Souto, this 20 storey monolith was constructed in 1976, with a 2000 square meter surface area. This high rise had flats, duplexes, garages and communal spaces, so it was pretty far ahead of its time.

Yet with time, its luxurious facade and tasteful interiors needed refurbishment.

The Challenge

The facade needed a major facelift. Starting with the cladding:

“As we had decided to keep the existing cladding, we had to choose a cladding material with very particular properties: its porosity needed to be as low as possible in order to resist the damage caused by a seafront environment; it needed to weigh as little as possible, but have large dimensions; and it needed to be able to be installed using the system of stainless steel inserts. Last, but not least, it needed to have a low level of solar absorption (characteristic of the area), as well as to suit the chromatic tones of the beach sand, as the Cap Ferrat is located on Ipanema Beach. After analysing several materials, the choice fell on the ultracompact surface Dekton® by Cosentino. It united all the requirements set for the project.”

Juan Carlos Di Filippo, Senior Architect of Di Filippo Architectura

Another wrench in the works was that the new cladding would have to be installed over the old. This was complicated because the bearing capacity of the facade beams only had an extra tolerance of 90 kg per square meter. The new cladding had to be lightweight, sturdy, and blend in with the beach and local environment. The buildings proximity to the sea and blistering sunlight can really do some damage too.

The Solution: Dekton

Coming in at half of the allowable maximum weight limit, the Danae shade of Dekton was the obvious choice because is looked alot like sand. Its ability to be customized to large format slabs, made it a dream to work with. Dekton is also impervious to UV exposure and will not turn pale with excessive sunlight, and will not stain from salt residue.

The out come?

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