Brazil native Daniel Vianna has attracted his fresh and contemporary style from Rio de Janeiro into his new Brooklyn, New York, apartment. After settling into his rented space only a couple of blocks from The Pratt Institute, he wasted no time putting together an eclectic collection of seminal modernist furnishings. An industrial design student, Vianna wanted to go for something different than the conventional fitting furniture collections. “When it’s done it’ll be like a shop,” he states. “A showroom for contemporary industrial design.”

in a Glance
Who resides: Daniel Vianna
Location: Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: Approximately 1,000 square feet; 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Hardwood floors run throughout the open-concept apartment. Storage cabinets sit into the far right, and doors in the end of the distance lead to a mini balcony.

Chris Dorsey: How is an architect and an industrial design student influenced how you designed your home?

Daniel Vianna: In a young age, younger than many, I have been interested in everything from furniture to building. I am 30 years old today, so I believe that it is not so much of being an architecture student who has impacted my personal design, but my design has compelled me for a student — to constantly find out more.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

CD: Why did you opt to combine the dining room chair styles?

DV: It’s wonderful to have a little comparison, as there are so many distinct pieces out there. While I have friends over, they have the chance to determine which chair to sit down in. The Victoria Ghost Chairfrom Philippe Starck took a very long time to buy because I wasn’t certain how it’d match or if I’d enjoy it here. But now, when my friends come over, I enjoy choosing that seat because it’s pretty straightforward.

Pendant lighting: Piper Grande, YLighting

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Glossy white cabinetry with doorways and hinges provides just the correct amount of storage. The countertop is Caesarstone Blizzard, as a fruit bowl, and Design serves.

Scrabble piece magnets decorate Vianna’s stainless steel fridge.

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DV: I enjoy this Experts Chair by Philippe Starck since it encompasses the shapes of the 3 classic chair forms in one piece, so it’s kind of historically referential. It reinterprets the 7 Series by Arne Jacobsen, the Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen and the Eiffel Chair by Charles Eames all in one.

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CD: What’s your favorite collected piece?

DV: I really don’t know whether I could pick a favorite. Though maybe this Moooi bunny lamp. I enjoy it because it’s sort of a joke. As one of a three-piece set, they also designed one as a horse — as in, a life-sized horse with a lampshade above its mind and a pig table. The bunny is more subtle. Additionally, my 2-year-old niece is mad for this. I lifted the colour and she kept pointing to where it attaches to the mind of this bunny and saying, “Take it off! Take it off!”

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The May Day table lamp by Konstantin Grcic, a lively lamp out of FlosUSA, sits atop a Cappellini New Antique side table. A colorful Eames Hang-It-All provides Vianna a place to hang outerwear.

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On the other side of couch, a Bourgie Table Lamp, designed by Ferruccio Laviani, sits on a Cappellini side table.

What’s another addition to his group? “There are so many bits I would like to have at the end, it’s difficult to choose what’s next,” states Vianna.

CD: Where did you supply all those bits?

DV: Once I moved to New York from Brazil, everything in here was out of Ikea. Piece by piece, except for the couch, I have been in a position to substitute the Ikea bits together with the actual thing. I’ve bits by Philippe Starck, Eero Saarinen and Vitra. They’re mostly from style stores, though some are out of antique stores around New York.

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CD: Would you have a favorite designer?

DV: I’d say Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. He has this style — industrial with colorful, contemporary textures. He creates these chilly, concrete walls with every thing in grayscale. That’s what I want to do if I return to Brazil. It’s really great for me when you’re able to view something and then create it. I am hoping I will design something like that in Brazil, a mixture of modernism with unique textures.

Storage unit: Cloud by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Cappellini

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Southwest-facing glass doors allow natural light to completely flooding the space.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Framed Andy Warhol soup-can prints line the hallway leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom.

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CD: What design projects are you working on?

DV: I made a soap dish as my first industrial design project for college. I designed it with a parametric layout and fabricated it onto a 3-D printer. The dish is small, but I actually use it. I have also tested the MakerBot, which I simply got not too long ago. I haven’t been able to utilize it as much as I enjoy since there was a two-month wait list.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

The mark of any fantastic designer is a worn out workspace with some character. This second bedroom is Vianna’s office.

Vianna says his set of contemporary design icons is far from complete, but it adds a lively and lively design twist into his temporary space in the meantime. He intends to select the collection together with him back to Brazil following graduation.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Vianna’s apartment building is situated at Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood. Host to many pubs, restaurants and markets, it’s a wonderful spot to be a young professional.

c: Are you currently a student with a creative, contemporary area? Discuss it with us!

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