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The Casa Bola, created by architect Eduardo Longo in São Paulo, opens its three floors to the public only until May 31, showcasing curved environments, circular windows, planned kitchen, compact bedrooms, custom-made furniture, and an exhibition that recovers the original idea of a Brazilian futuristic modular house from the 70s.
The Casa Bola, an experimental residence created by architect Eduardo Longo in São Paulo, is open for public visitation only until May 31, 2026. Built between 1974 and 1979, the house draws attention for its spherical shape, rounded environments, and urban spaceship appearance in the middle of the city.
In a video published by the channel Doma Arquitetura, the property, where Eduardo Longo lived with his family for about 40 years, is located in an area surrounded by buildings, near Faria Lima, Rua Amauri, and 9 de Julho. The visit reveals three floors, custom-made furniture, compact bedrooms, unusual windows, and an exhibition about the architectural project.
Casa Bola was born as an experiment and became a residence lived in for decades
The Casa Bola was not initially conceived just as a common residence. It emerged as a kind of full-scale model, almost a habitable prototype of a larger idea developed by Eduardo Longo.
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The architect envisioned a modular system, in which several “balls” could form residential buildings. What today seems like an isolated and curious house in São Paulo was originally part of a broader proposal for experimental housing.
Futuristic residence was handcrafted between 1974 and 1979
The construction of the Casa Bola took place between 1974 and 1979, a period when experimental architecture sought new ways of living, circulating, and utilizing spaces. The structure combines metal parts, reinforced mortar, and cellular brick, a resource cited as a way to make the construction lighter.
The result is a house with an unusual external appearance and an interior fully adapted to the curves. Doors, countertops, furniture, windows, stairs, and circulation areas needed to interact with the spherical shape, creating a different logic from traditional rectangular architecture.
Rounded environments change the feeling of space inside
Those who look at the Casa Bola from the outside might imagine a small residence, but the visit reveals another effect. The house has almost 1,000 m², three floors, and high ceilings in some areas, with natural lighting entering through windows, skylights, and openings between rooms.
The internal sensation mixes house, boat, spaceship, and artistic installation. Rounded walls, narrow corridors, curved doors, and circular windows create an uncommon circulation experience, where each environment seems to have been fitted within the geometry of the sphere.
Custom furniture shows what it was like to live inside the sphere
One of the most interesting aspects of Casa Bola is realizing that it was not only designed to be seen but to be inhabited. Sofas, tables, cabinets, beds, doors, sinks, and even the refrigerator appear integrated into the design of the house.
In the kitchen, for example, the elements needed to be adapted to the curved space. Countertops, sink, stove, and storage areas follow a logic of fitting. Nothing seems simply placed there; almost everything responds to the shape of the construction itself.
Bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry reveal the domestic side of the work
The visit also shows that, despite its futuristic appearance, Casa Bola functioned as a family residence for decades. There are bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, clothesline, cabinets, suspended beds, and small details that reinforce the everyday use of the property.
The compact bathrooms, small windows, and storage solutions resemble the interiors of a boat or airplane, due to the need to make use of every corner. This domestic dimension brings the work closer to the visitor, as it shows that the house was not just a sculpture: it was a home.
Windows and skylights create communication between rooms
Natural lighting plays an important role in the Casa Bola experience. The central skylight, circular windows, and internal openings allow light to pass through different levels of the residence, creating views from one room to another.
This feature also enhances the sense of continuity. Even in small or curved spaces, the house avoids feeling too closed off, because there are light entries, ventilation, and small visual connections spread across the floors.
Exhibition shows the sketches and the idea of a ball building
Besides visiting the internal environments, the public opening includes an exhibition with sketches, images, and studies related to Eduardo Longo’s project. These materials show how Casa Bola was part of a larger idea, which envisioned spherical modules organized together.
The proposal for a building formed by rounded units never materialized, but the drawings help to understand the original ambition of the project. The house open today is, therefore, a rare piece of an architectural vision that tried to imagine another type of urban dwelling.
Last days increase interest in visitation in São Paulo
The deadline until May 31, 2026, makes the visit even more sought-after for those who enjoy architecture, design, and urban history. Casa Bola offers a limited opportunity to see inside a property that many people only saw as an external curiosity.
More than a different construction, it functions as a living document of an era. The residence shows how the 70s were also marked by radical experiments on form, function, and way of living in cities.
Casa Bola shows that architecture can also provoke strangeness
The Casa Bola continues to attract attention because it defies the norm. Amidst buildings, busy streets, and conventional facades, the residence seems out of place, almost like an urban object that fell into another time.
Now the question arises: would you live in such a different house, with rounded walls, custom-made furniture, and spaces designed outside the traditional standard? Does Casa Bola seem like a brilliant architectural solution or a beautiful experience but difficult to live with day-to-day? Share your opinion.
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