by Isabel Duprat

 

This mansion permeated my memory; it was familiar to me since my adolescence. Whenever we passed by, at the corner of Avenida Higienópolis with Rua Albuquerque Lins — often on the way to Colégio Rio Branco, where I studied in the scientific course, my father would tell me about his relationship with this house. He recounted spending some afternoons there in his childhood, in that mansion with many rooms, a large garden, and countless stories. There was, after all, a family connection: Aunt Cecília, daughter of Nhô Nhô Magalhães, married my grandfather's brother, Ângelo Pedreira Duprat. She and her husband lived in Rio de Janeiro, in a beautiful house in the Laranjeiras neighborhood, with a garden designed by Burle Marx in the 1950s. It was this family connection that led my father, still a boy, to visit the house in Higienópolis several times.

 

Later, when Aunt Cecília became a widow and moved to São Paulo, our closeness increased. She was very fond of my parents, and we were fortunate to spend a lot of time with her. I remember her with great affection. She was a lovely person, extremely interesting, and left very dear memories.

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HISTORY OF THE HOUSE​

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Carlos Leôncio de Magalhães, known as Nhô Nhô Magalhães, was a prominent figure in the social and political elite of his time. An entrepreneurial and visionary man, he made his fortune as a coffee grower, businessman, and banker. Owner of vast properties in western São Paulo, he stood out for his business acumen and foresight. He sold a farm, Fazenda Cambuy — with thousands of coffee trees in Matão — shortly before the New York Stock Exchange crash in 1929, and diversified his production to include sugarcane and cattle.

 

In 1927, wanting to build an urban manor in the Higienópolis neighborhood — already home to mansions belonging to São Paulo's elite — Nhô Nhô commissioned the project to the firm Siciliano & Silva. The idea was to create a representative residence for parties and social gatherings, as the family lived mainly on their farms. The project was completed in 1929, and construction began the following year, lasting about six years. The mansion reflected the wealth of the coffee barons, who were establishing themselves in what would become one of São Paulo's most affluent neighborhoods.

 

Nhô Nhô passed away prematurely in 1931, only a year after the construction began. It was up to his wife, Ernestina, to complete the project, and in 1937 she moved into the mansion with five of their unmarried children, where they lived for about nine years.

 

The house was built with a mix of styles. It had approximately 3,000 m² of built area, over 40 rooms, including a small theater in the basement, a chapel inspired by the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Belgian stained-glass windows, and Murano glass mosaics.

 

Listed since 1994 by CONDEPHAAT (Council for the Defense of Historical, Artistic, Archaeological and Tourist Heritage of the State of São Paulo) and DHP/CONPRESP (Council for the Preservation of the Municipality of São Paulo), the property was sold to the São Paulo State Government in the 1970s, occupied by the headquarters of the Public Security Secretariat, and later housed a division of the Military Police, the DAS (Anti-Kidnapping Division). In 2005, the group that manages Shopping Higienópolis purchased the property at auction, through a bidding process, with the intention of restoring the complex and using part of the land as an expansion area for the commercial establishment.

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THE PROCESS​​

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I was  invited by Iguatemi group in 2017 to participate in the restoration of the house. On my first visit, I found a garden abandoned to the elements, dark and sad, and I immediately rejoiced in the mission of bringing it back to life. All the memories woke up.

 

The landscaping project aimed to revitalize the exterior areas surrounding the house, encompassing its gardens, living spaces, walkways, staircases, expansive terraces, and belvedere. It also included a comprehensive study of circulation — for service, cargo, vehicles, and pedestrians — and accessibility, establishing how this complex would harmoniously connect with the street and the neighborhood, as well as with the Higienópolis Shopping Mall via the boulevard. One residence was adapted for a different use: events and a museum, a new function.