Casa Coral Celebrates Brazilian Identity Through Plant-Derived Pigments.

Nestled in São Paulo’s Parque da Água Branca, Casa Coral is one of the standout installations at Casacor 2025, Latin America’s most influential design platform. This 160-square-metre refuge by Todos Arquitetura responds to this year’s theme “Sow Dreams”—an exploration of how design can nurture collective aspirations and reimagine contemporary living.

The project is deeply rooted in connection to place. Creative director Mauricio Arruda and his team at Todos Arquitetura have created something that feels authentically Brazilian, drawing inspiration directly from the century-old park that surrounds the heritage mansion.

Working alongside Coral and natural pigment specialist Maibe Maroccolo, they mapped 20 dye-bearing plant species from the park to develop a palette of 60 colours—though only 10 of these nature-derived hues bring the manifesto home to life.

The colour story unfolds room by room, like chapters in a book. A terracotta-toned skirting in “Fogão de Lenha” (Wood Stove) threads through the entire space, creating continuity. The dining room wraps visitors in “Tâmara” (Date), while the living room breathes in “Areia de Canoa” (Canoe Sand). The kitchen combines “Jangadeiro” (Raftsman) with “Bege Amuleto” (Amulet Beige), and doorways become chromatic transitions between “Púrpura Marroquina” (Moroccan Purple), “Fogão de Lenha” and “Ocre Profundo” (Deep Ochre).

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“Casa Coral is about the Brazil I believe in: diverse, affectionate, inventive. A real country—maximalist, creative, and deeply in love with life,” explains Arruda. “A Brazil that constantly reinvents itself using its most precious assets: nature, culture, and craft. That’s why no story of ours should ever be told in black and white.”

This philosophy extends beyond paint colours into curated furnishings and artworks. The dining room features restored timber parquet flooring and works by Manuela Navas alongside ceramics by Paraíba-based artisan Maria José. Sergio Rodrigues’ “Cuiabá” mirror anchors the foyer, while the TV room showcases a 20-square-metre handwoven sisal rug from Ceará.

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The kitchen flows into the breakfast area, where green dominates through walls, benchtop and splashback in striped surfaces of polished Vitória Régia and Paraná marble. Treasures from Loja MAU include a rattan and iron chair by Martin Eisler and Carlo Hauner, while a poetic bird chandelier by artisan Vavan from Ilha do Ferro adds sculptural interest.

Each space celebrates Brazilian craftsmanship, from Gabriella Marinho’s ceramic wall sculpture in the bedroom to Francisco Brennand’s ceramics in the kitchen. The bathroom becomes joyfully expressive with its “Amarelo Macaúba” stone vanity and “Carnaval” wallpaper by Bozó Bacamarte.

An ode to cultural identity, Casa Coral draws pigments from its immediate environment and celebrates local artisans in a space that feels both contemporary, timeless and utterly joyous—exactly what Brazilian design should be.

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[Images courtesy of Todos Arquitetura. Photography by Maura Mello.]