Leblon III by Felipe Hess

_presented by Core + Hakwood

_project: Leblon III
_architecture: Felipe Hess
_location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Rio de Janeiro, where apartments often face both extraordinary ocean views and the constraints of buildings pressed tightly against one another, designing a home becomes an exercise in clarity. For Felipe Hess, Apartamento Leblon III began with a familiar urban condition: breathtaking views to the sea paired with interiors that often remain dark, centered around deep corridors and internal shafts. The project’s soul, he explains, was understanding how to make this circulation space come alive, how to transform what could have been “just a corridor” into the narrative core of the home.

Felipe sees architecture as a dialogue of references. “Nothing is new; everything has already been done,” he says. “What matters is how our references mix with the client’s, and how this blend can produce something meaningful.” In this apartment, that meaning emerges through a careful orchestration of light, rhythm, and materiality.

The original layout offered good proportions, yet every wall was reconsidered, some shifted by just centimetres, to refine spatial quality. Movement through the home is defined by a long, linear corridor. Instead of concealing it, the design amplifies its presence. Facing the internal shaft, a new glass surface with a subtle film filters the daylight, while a white brise adds texture and motion. In contrast to the dark Hakwood flooring, long, wide planks that visually elongate the space, the walls are lined with broad white slats that integrate doors, cabinets, and panelling. The result is a corridor that becomes spatial rather than merely functional: a place shaped by light, rhythm, and carefully positioned elements.

Throughout the home, fixed joinery receives the same precision as the architecture. Headboards, cabinets, shelves, each piece contributes to the clarity of the whole. In the living room, a long, low sideboard composed simply of niches appears to hover, offering support for artworks and everyday rituals without imposing itself.

For Felipe, authorship is collective. “I don't design alone,” he says. “We're twenty architects working together. We're not trying to invent anything new, but within what already exists, a small detail can make all the difference.” Here, this belief takes form. Light becomes structure. Rhythm becomes space. And home becomes a place where subtle architectural gestures quietly redefine how one moves, sees, and lives.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_film by Architecture Hunter
_photos by Fran Parente