14 Must-Know Brazilian Furniture Designers
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With the Olympics in Rio well under way, Brazilian design—and overall aesthetics—is more than a little bit on our minds. And while you’ve most likely heard of Charles and Ray Eames a hundred times, can you name a single great Brazilian modern furniture designer? The answer is probably no. This is not due to a lack of good, or even stellar, options. So in honor of the games, here are the must-know Brazilian furniture designers of the past, present, and future. Have you been wondering what exactly the interiors of those private homes currently rented out to top athletes, news executives, and models in Rio might look like? This will provide at least a good first guess.
Photo: Courtesy of espasso.com1/12Isay Weinfeld
Weinfeld is one of Brazil’s best known architects and has built many buildings in São Paulo in addition to his design work.
IW armchair, for information: espasso.com
Courtesy of espasso.com2/12Carlos Motta
Motta is extremely interested in environmental conservation, an important issue for local industrial designers considering how much of their fine furniture has historically used the country’s beautiful but endangered Brazilian rosewood.
Timbó chaise, for information: espasso.com
Photo: Courtesy of espasso.com3/12Sérgio Rodrigues
Perhaps the best known Brazilian furniture designer, Rodrigues had opened the once-prominent furniture supply company Oca, and he often collaborated with famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer on projects.
Tonico armchair, for information: espasso.com
Photo: Courtesy of dwr.com4/12Paulo Mendes da Rocha
While he worked mainly as an architect—and won the Pritzker Prize—Mendes da Rocha’s scoop chairs are still a popular and classic piece.
Paulistano outdoor armchair, $1,250, dwr.com
Photo: Courtesy of espasso.com5/12Fernando and Humberto Campana
These two brothers are well known internationally as well as in Brazil.
Scrigno chest, for information: espasso.com