MiND first fell in love with the work of Studio MK27 when we published an article on Livraria Cultura, which they designed. We were fortunate to have an opportunity to chat to their Founder and Head Architect, Marcio Kogan, about his vision, his team, and garden lunches. We lived in the Brazilian version of the Villa Arpel We know your father was a gifted engineer, has his career influenced you to becoming an architect?
MARCIO KOGAN: Since I was a little boy I would visit construction sites with my father, an engineer-architect, who had done some interesting modern projects in São Paulo during the 50 s and 60 s. Obviously, this was a great influence. Also, we lived in the Brazilian version of the Villa Arpel, the house in the movie Mon Oncle. Exactly the same, super-technological. This was also a great influence. V4 House Architecture: studio mk27 marcio kogan + suzana glogowski. Interiors: studiomk27 diana radomysler. Photograpy: nelson kon I like being able to do a refined job, practically haute couture StudioMK27 s projects vary from cozy restaurants to luxury hotels, was this diversity continually a part of your vision? MARCIO KOGAN: When I graduated I wanted to work with social housing and gave up due to the deplorable level of quality in this type of construction in Brazil. Fate led me to the opposite side and I like being able to do a refined job, practically haute couture, dealing with a family s life, etc. However, I believe it is fundamental for an architect to be able to respond to a wide variety of projects. With rare exceptions, we are able to design any category of architecture and
not just houses, which we are most famous for. For instance, we have built many shops, a nursery, schools, commercial and residential buildings. Toblerone House Architecture and Interiors: studio mk27 marcio kogan + diana radomysler. Photography: nelson kon You have a very close team, did it take a long time to build a strong relationship between you all? MARCIO KOGAN: I fought hard for it. I love to share everything with everyone here at the studio. We have created a collaborative system where everyone has their ideas respected. Sometimes this quality is also a major flaw in the Studio. I like this kind of work because it s not a common thing to see in an office. It s not like I m the boss and they are the architects: it s a real team, a sort of think-tank. Daily life here is very pleasant and lunches in the garden are delightful. Today Gabriel, [my son and one of our architects] has made a pesto pasta using basil from our garden.
Daily life here is very pleasant and lunches in the garden are delightful Studio SC Architecture: studio mk27 marcio kogan + suzana glogowski. Interiors: studiomk27 diana radomysler. Photographs: fernando Guerra Tell us about some of your recent projects, your designs are absolutely breathtaking. MARCIO KOGAN: Thank you for your kindness! We are, as usual, doing some houses: in Bahia, LA, Miami and Canada can you imagine us, tropical types, climbing a snowy mountain? A retrofit in Barcelona where we are turning a listed (i.e. protected by heritage) modernist office building in a residential building, and a condominium of 70m2 to 180m2 houses in Madrid. Another interesting project is a production center for the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro with a technical school of performing arts, offering free courses for the community. We count on the help of the staff from the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. We are also doing a cabin for temporary residence for writers in Switzerland, designed for a foundation that promotes literature; writers will occupy these places for 3 months.
Paraty House Architecture: studio mk27 marcio kogan + suzana glogowski. Interiors: studiomk27 diana radomysler. Photograpy: nelson kon Our old projects were white and aseptic I am especially fascinated by the organic elements present in many of your projects, can this be classified as a part of your signature as a design house? MARCIO KOGAN: That s a curious definition, because we do not consider our architecture closely linked to the tradition of organic architecture, as for instance Wright s or even Niemeyer s. I admire Niemeyer very much, but to do as Niemeyer does is to build caricatures of him. In any case, I think the organic element is presented in two strong components. First the relationship between interior and exterior. We always think the architecture with these open and continuous spaces, at least visually and, weather permitting, also physically. Another thing is also the use of natural and raw materials. We believe that they age better and thus have a better interaction with the environment. Our old projects were white and aseptic. One day a customer came into the Studio and asked for a house with only one condition: to not be white. At this
point, we begin working with this thought, which gave a lot of life to the projects. I liked the result and we went forward with this new perspective. MM House Architecture: studio mk27 marcio kogan + maria cristina motta. Interiors: studiomk27 diana radomysler. Photography: fernando Guerra Your portfolio is comprised mostly of private houses and cultural projects, do you plan on expanding your reach into industries such as retail? MARCIO KOGAN: As I mentioned earlier, we have many shops in our portfolio as well as other programs for various industries, but yes, we are always looking into expanding our field of work as we do love new challenges.
Cube House Architecture: studio mk27 marcio kogan + suzana glogowski. Interiors: diana radomysler. Photography: fernando Guerra The team is very experienced, and this helps to protect the integrity of the architecture Following that question, do you plan on expanding your offices to have bases in different countries? MARCIO KOGAN: I try with all my strength not to grow. Two years ago I had a team meeting to tell them I had decided that the office would never exceed the number of twenty architects. It was a sworn oath over all possible Bibles, but quickly one of them warned me that we were already 22. Today we are 30 and this bothers me a little. However, the team is very experienced, and this helps to protect the integrity of the architecture.