A few meters from the busy Faria Lima Avenue is one of São Paulo’s most eccentric architectural projects: Casa Bola. Built in the 1970s, the residence ended up hidden in the landscape due to the large number of buildings surrounding it. Even so, it remains a landmark of creative design in São Paulo!
Designed by architect Eduardo Longo, Casa Bola was born with the bold proposal of combining innovation, sustainability, and an unusual shape. For this very reason, the property continues to intrigue those who pass by, attracting curious onlookers with its spherical shape even after almost 50 years since its construction.
Have you noticed Casa Bola, hidden in the São Paulo landscape?
Eduardo Longo dreamed of creating more compact homes that combined ecology and practicality. Thus, the idea arose to develop sets of “ball houses” and even spherical buildings —which, despite being innovative, never left the drawing board.
One sketch that became reality was Casa Bola, a prototype built in 1979 on Rua Amauri. The property, which is located above Longo’s office and serves as the architect’s residence, took five years to complete. With a diameter of eight meters and an internal area of 100 square meters, the building offers a compact but sophisticated space that serves as a benchmark for functionality and creative design.
Photo: Eduardo Longo/Publicity
Legacy of the project
From the outside, Casa Bola looks like a simple metal sphere. Its interior, however, surprises with its originality: only shades of beige and white, with rounded corners that seem to elongate the environment. On the upper floor, a room full of windows and a skylight takes advantage of more natural lighting, and in the basement, a slide serves as an “alternative exit” for residents.
Eduardo Longo has completed more than 40 projects in his 50-year career, but none of them have attracted as much attention as Casa Bola. Although the idea of designing spherical buildings did not find investors, it serves as an example of how architecture can align with sustainability and waste reduction: concepts that are increasingly debated in today’s world.
Photo: Tuca Reyes/Courtesy of Eduardo Longo/Reproduction
Finally open to the public
Between March 8 and May 31, the iconic Casa Bola, on Faria Lima Avenue, opens its doors to the public for the first time in decades as the headquarters of the 5th edition of the Aberto platform.
After passing through the Fondation Le Corbusier in Paris, the project returns to São Paulo, officially occupying the futuristic residence designed by Eduardo Longo in the 1970s.
The experience allows visitors to explore its internal curves and get a close look at one of the most daring works of Brazilian modernism, now activated by contemporary art and design interventions that also spread across the avenue.
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