Place de L'Etoile

History

The condominium was established in January 1990, on Rua Maranhão, the road that links Praça Vilaboim to the upper stretch of Higienópolisi and that holds part of the neighbourhood’s stock of large apartments. It is a building from the generation that succeeded the modernist buildings of the 1950s and 1960s — the same logic of generous floor area and one apartment per floor, but already with a garage sized for the whole family. The authorship of the design and the exact year of completion are not securely documented in any public source, and are therefore not attributed here.

• Concept: one apartment per floor in height, in a neighbourhood that resolved privacy with wall thickness — here it comes from the floor plan, which occupies the whole slab.
• Curiosities: the building has a front setback unusual for the block, which gives the street a strip of garden and keeps the tower away from the pavement. In Higienópolis, where most buildings sit right on the building line, this setback is the first thing noticed about the address — and what guarantees quiet in the front-facing units.

Architecture and aesthetics

Single tower, twenty-five storeys, one apartment per floor, served by two social lifts and one service lift. The social lift opens into a private lobby, so there is no shared landing: each family receives guests in its own lobby. The setback from the building line creates a front green area that acts as a filter between the street and the building. The standard units are organised around a spacious three-room living area integrated with the balcony, with four en suites and a kitchen facing onto the full service area. The architectural credit is not publicly documented.

Aesthetics and scarcity

Technical specifications

• Towers and units: 1 tower, 25 storeys, 1 apartment per floor. The total number of residential units is not publicly documented.
• Floor areas: from 455 m² to 800 m² of private area, with 4 bedrooms. The floor plans in circulation show 4 en suites and 5 to 7 bathrooms.
• Parking: 5 in the 450 to 455 m² floor plans; the larger units show more.
• Structural highlights: private lobby per floor; two social lifts and one service lift; front setback with green area between the street and the tower.
• Registry and parameters: 1 tower · 25 storeys · 1 apartment per floor · 4 bedrooms · 4 en suites · 5 to 7 bathrooms · private areas from 455 m² to 800 m² · 2 social lifts and 1 service lift · condominium established in January 1990.

Leisure and facilities

• Gym
• Party room
• Playground
• Green area
• Private lobby per floor
• 24-hour porter service

Location and surroundings

Points of interest · distances in metres

Higienópolis: the address

Rua Maranhão is one of the spines of Higienópolisi: it runs between Praça Vilaboim — the square of cafés, bakeries and pavement tables that serves as the neighbourhood’s central plaza — and the tree-lined stretch that runs down towards Pacaembui. It is an address where life is resolved on foot, a rare thing in São Paulo: the market, pharmacy, newsstand and restaurant are all on the block, and Parque Buenos Airesi and Shopping Pátio Higienópolisi are within a short radius. FAAP, Mackenzie and the row of traditional schools complete the layout of a neighbourhood chosen for its schools and kept for its convenience. It is also a neighbourhood that has aged without losing value: the stock is old, the floor areas are large, and turnover is almost nil.