Albert Einstein Education and Research Center

The Albert Einstein Education and Research Center (AEERC) is one of Latin America’s most advanced institutions for medical research and study. As the first medical school to be established by a private hospital in Brazil, AEERC is envisioned as a landmark learning and research environment. Located in the residential district of Morumbi, São Paulo, adjacent to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, the building is conceived as an urban oasis imbued with a sense of calmness in counterpoint to the activity of the city. Organized around a vaulted, skylit atrium garden, the building’s laboratory spaces, classrooms and communal areas are interwoven with nature and embody the unique character of the institution. The spacious garden atrium is the physical and symbolic centerpiece of the building. Offering opportunities for spontaneous interaction, collaboration, and discovery, as well as repose and contemplation, the garden atrium serves as the community living room, visible from almost every corner of the building. The stepped terraces connect three main levels of activity, a restaurant on the first floor, amphitheater and auditorium on the center levels, and exhibition/event space on the fourth floor. The garden atrium, designed in collaboration with São-Paulo-based Isabel Duprat Landscape Architecture, is lushly planted with native flora and paved with local stone. The atrium’s vaulted glass roof structure features an innovative shading and daylighting system with a resulting visual effect that evokes the feeling of congregating under a leafy tree. To adapt to São Paulo’s variable climate, Safdie Architects worked with the specialty sub-contractor, Seele, to engineer the multi-layered skylight system. The atrium environment was the result of extensive computer modeling to balance three countervailing factors: to provide ample daylight for the plants to thrive; to regulate heat gain and glare for human comfort; and to provide shading by delicately filtering bright sunlight. Printed with a bespoke frit pattern and solar protection coating, the glass roof’s design was instrumental in achieving LEED Gold status. The center is organized into two connected wings, which bookend the central atrium. The east wing contains the main teaching spaces, including education spaces for nursing, medicine, graduate programs, medical residency, and technical courses. The west wing houses medical research facilities, including laboratories, clean room, and clinical research resources. Walkways bridge the teaching and research wings in continuous ribbon balconies oriented towards the garden atrium and are punctuated by a series of intimate meeting and study spaces on each level. Embracing the sloping hillside, the building nestles itself into the site. Modulated by light and shadow, the exterior of the building steps in and out with full-height glass walls, extensively planted terraces, and shaded overhangs. A louvered façade mitigates the volume of the building with respect for the residential neighborhood surrounding it, while providing optimal light and shade to the interior classroom spaces. The center is directly connected to the facilities and resources of the Einstein main hospital complex via a pedestrian bridge over Avenue Padre Lebret.