Sometimes Happiness: The Architecture of Isay Weinfeld

Isay Weinfeld melds the forms of classical modernism and visionary Brazilian architecture into distinctive structures of captivating beauty and timeless elegance. Isay Weinfeld is one of today’s most soughtafter architects. He has succeeded in developing a warm, elegant, and contemporary style with a distinctly Brazilian touch that effortlessly melds contrasting characteristics--tropical with modern, playful with functional, minimalistic with elaborate, sophisticated with democratic. Weinfeld’s remarkable talent has caught the attention of clients from around the world, who have asked him to create their hotels, residences, shops, and commercial buildings. Weinfeld’s best-known structures in clued the Fasano Hotel and the 360° Building in São Paulo, the square nine Hotel in Belgrade, and the Fasano Las Piedras in Uruguay, which was featured on the cover of once in a lifetime. Weinfeld is currently working on a high-rise residential building for the royal family of Monaco. Sometimes Happiness is the first comprehensive showcase of Isay Weinfeld’s body of work. The large-format book features detailed depictions of 20 exemplary projects that are supplemented by images of his personal arrangements of various objects--so-called "table scapes." Project descriptions, anecdotes, and fictional narratives by the architect himself as well as befriended artists, writers, and cinematographers give added insight into Weinfeld’s work. What makes Isay Weinfeld so outstanding is that he designs not only exteriors, but also buildings in their entirety. While some architects, even famous ones, leave the interior design of their structures to others, Weinfeld plans his buildings to the last detail. He even designs furniture himself or researches and seeks out the most fitting furnishings from around the world. Narrative elements are a focus of Weinfeld’s work, and he pays particular attention to staging the transition from outside to inside. Given that entering one of his buildings turns into an unforgettable experience, it comes as no surprise that Weinfeld counts the films of Stanley Kubrick and Ingmar Bergman among his influences, along with the visual arts and the music of Radiohead and Jay-Z.