Santos Dumont House Museum, Aviation pioneer museum in Petrópolis, Brazil.
Santos Dumont House is a three-story residence in Petrópolis with a rooftop observatory and rooms connected without internal walls for experimental design. The layout creates open sightlines through the floors and flowing transitions between spaces.
The residence was designed and built in 1918 by engineer Eduardo Pederneiras for Santos Dumont. After his death, his heirs donated it to Petrópolis municipality, where it later became a museum.
The house preserves Santos Dumont's personal belongings, including his manuscript 'What I Saw, What We Will See'. These objects reveal the character and passions of someone deeply committed to invention and flight.
The house sits on Rua do Encanto street and contains the first hot water shower system in Brazil, which used alcohol-based heating. Visiting offers insight into early domestic innovations and the engineering solutions of that era.
The house features two specially designed staircases that require visitors to start climbing with a specific foot: right foot for the external stairs, left for the internal ones. This detail reflects the practical engineering thinking that marks the entire residence.
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