September 21, 2026 | DESIGN & INTERIORS
CASA MAGMA
words Noah Mercer
photos Pedro Ocanhas
For CASACOR São Paulo 2026, SUITE Arquitetos conceived Casa MAGMA for Portinari as a 215-square-metre interior where curved architecture, mineral surfaces and custom-designed elements form a continuous, tactile landscape.
Casa MAGMA has a deliberately introspective quality. Designed by SUITE Arquitetos — Carolina Mauro, Daniela Frugiuele, Luiza Monari and Filipe Troncon — the project begins with the idea of shelter, but interprets comfort through more than softness. Lowered ceilings, curved walls, earthy tones and textured surfaces create a sense of enclosure, while the materials gradually reveal their depth as you move through the space.
INSIDE CASACOR SAO PAULO
Founded in São Paulo in 1987, CASACOR has grown into one of the Americas’ leading platforms for architecture, interiors and landscape design. Each edition brings together architects, interior designers and landscape designers to create individual spaces within a shared setting, often in collaboration with design brands. For the 2026 São Paulo edition, themed “Mind and Heart,” SUITE Arquitetos approached Casa MAGMA not as a sequence of separate rooms, but as connected atmospheres. The living room, dining area, master suite and tea bar unfold around a central space the architects describe as the heart of the project, while sculptural volumes and rounded transitions soften the boundaries between them.
A ROOM AT THE CENTRE
The shift in mood begins at the entrance. Burgundy velvet curtains, reddish tones and textured surfaces create a darker, more contained threshold before a large curved wall draws the eye towards the main living area. Clad in Portinari’s Vestígios Decor Mix, its three-dimensional surface takes its cue from geological strata, turning an architectural divider into one of the defining elements of the interior.
Beyond it, the living room sits slightly below the surrounding floor. Rounded sofas and dense rugs gather around the centre, while broad curves replace hard divisions. Portinari’s Argilas porcelain runs through the central core, with colours drawn from Brazil’s coast, forests and cerrado. A fireplace finished in Petra Fóssil anchors the room and adds another mineral note.
Rather than functioning as decoration, the surfaces establish the rhythm of the interior. Furniture, architecture and finishes are closely interwoven, working within a restrained vocabulary of curves, recesses, muted colour and contrasts in texture.
FROM SURFACE TO OBJECT
At the rear, the kitchen, dining area and tea bar form a more open sequence, linked by diffuse lighting, earthy tones and mineral finishes. A Supra Hide sink by Deca is integrated into the countertop, while the pendant above the island takes the project’s material language beyond floors and walls. Based on SUITE Arquitetos’ Hydria design, it was reworked for Casa MAGMA using natural crystals and tubes made from Portinari Petra.
It is one of the project’s more interesting moves. Stone is treated not simply as a finish, but as something that can become an object, a detail or a source of light. The same thinking continues throughout Casa MAGMA, where Portinari’s ceramic coverings and sintered stones move between architecture, furniture and sculptural elements.
A QUIETER PRIVATE ZONE
The master suite shifts the atmosphere once more. Described by the architects as a “contemporary den,” it feels lighter and more protected, with curved portals, pale fabrics and natural materials replacing the darker intensity of the entrance. Behind the bed, Argilas Decor SRD porcelain introduces an irregular linear texture, while Nogueira Bourbon by Duratex continues through the woodwork.
Casa MAGMA is most convincing when its material richness is allowed to remain quiet. The surfaces are expressive, but the overall language stays controlled. Curves recur without becoming ornamental; earthy colours bring warmth without pushing the interior towards rusticity. What remains is a strong sense of continuity between architecture, furniture and finish — less a collection of individual objects than a single, enveloping interior.
