A practice rooted in material attention and considered light.

I'm Iara Santos — an architect from São Paulo, building a practice in interior design with lighting and project management as integral disciplines.

My training is in architecture, my specialization in lighting design, and my method shaped by years of running complex projects on schedule and on budget. I believe the best interiors come from a single mind keeping all three threads pulled tight: the spatial idea, the material truth, and the lighting that lets both register.

I work in residential at the high end and in commercial projects where atmosphere matters as much as program. I write here as a way of thinking out loud — about projects of my own, about work I admire, and about the unglamorous craft of getting beautiful things actually built.

Background

Architecture (Brazil). Specialized training in lighting design. Built and currently maintain ISSA Project, a project management application designed specifically for interior and lighting workflows.

Currently

Working remotely with clients across the Americas. Open to senior interior designer and lighting design roles with US-based studios — fully remote, with occasional travel.

Selected expertise

• Residential, high-end (full design and documentation)
• Workplace and corporate interiors (mid-sized to enterprise floors)
• Layered architectural lighting (specification, controls, and color tuning)
• Project management for design teams (RFP through punch list)