Architecture Walking Tour

MAXXI

DDS

The design of house DDS, is based on an idea that culture, landscape, architecture, interior design, furniture and art form a whole. The architectural precedents of Brazilian Modernism and particularly Paulista Brutalism are apparent in the design of the house. The site is a beautiful piece of land that falls gradually away towards a lake and a rolling green landscape in the distance. The landscape is the project’s primary asset and the architecture is a lens through which one experiences it. On arrival, a dramatic leaning off-shutter concrete wall, marks the edge of the public space and heightens the sense of transition and arrival into a private internal courtyard. The route forces a series of changes of direction onto the visitor, this unravelling of spaces, building up and releasing tension, sets up an almost cinematic experience of the building using time and space. The house is arranged on two levels; the top level is a pavilion structure set in the landscape, housing the living spaces. It is almost entirely unencumbered by walls. Glass doors slide away on both sides to blur any distinction between interior and exterior space, so that architecture and landscape overlap each other with the division between the two purposely ambiguous. A massive off-shutter concrete slab, with various vaults carved out of the mass, floats over the living spaces. It inverts expectations of typically light and conventional pavilion structure. Its mass makes a strong sculptural statement, whilst the vaults subtly organizing the open pavilion into more intimate zones of dining, seating and lounging areas whilst funneling views of the courtyard gardens, and the landscape beyond, into the space. On the level below this more public pavilion are the private spaces, including a downstairs lounge, cinema, games room and en-suite bedrooms. These spaces are connected to the upstairs section via a series of courtyards that run through it. A series of double volume cutouts which make physical connections between the two levels and draw natural air and light into the lower level. Like the spaces above, the level opens onto expansive gardens and connects to the landscape views beyond. The use of raw concrete pays homage to the impact of the material on Brazilian architecture. Stone and wood paneling emphasize the sense of continuity with the landscape around and beyond the house itself. The landscape design was conceptualized alongside the architecture, which creates an immersive surrounding for the paces of the house and also directly links the site visually with the distant landscape. Fundamental to the whole design, is the notion of the experience of architecture. The building is not an object but rather a series of occurrences. From the dramatic arrival sequence, the house sets up a playful engagement with the experience of space and landscape.

Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge

Bridge in São Paulo.

Ibirapuera Auditorium

Building in São Paulo, Brazil.

Fasano Itaim

Fasano Itaim is an ode to classic elegance. The Italian family, devoted to hospitality for three generations, forged a brand over the principles of excellence and warm service. Its interiors are dark, walls covered in Brazilian freijó wood, with very punctual lighting. A diffuse natural brightness filtered by continuous linen curtains creates an ethereal atmosphere. The guest arrives straight to a long homey living room, with overlaid layouts that create a vibrancy that one feels immediately invited to take part. Human interaction is placed at the center stage in the common area. The chosen furniture encourages visual permeability, low armchairs and see-through bookshelves enhance the space's extension. Important mid-century pieces are balanced with contemporary designs by Minotti, the most famous furniture factory from the heart of Italian tradition, including some design collections by Studio MK27 such as Brasilia sofas, Super Quadra sideboards and the iconic Daiki armchair. The lobby and bar’s sober ambiance undergoes a transformation as you step into the restaurant. Here, the atmosphere is cozy, bathed in natural light streaming in through generous windows. The use of tactile fabrics and textures, such as the brick walls, embrace the guests for a typical warm Italian meal. The suites showcase a precise selection of finishes, such as the slatted paneling and the leather headboard and special Brazilian pieces, as Drummond and Gio armchairs by Sérgio Rodrigues and Bank coffee table by Jader Almeida. With an accurate dose of sophistication, Fasano’s suite invites one for a relaxing time after a long day in chaotic São Paulo. Finally, the rooftop furniture pieces embrace organicity and comfort, inaugurating a fresh destination for dining and partying, while overlooking São Paulo’s skyline.

Villa XP

In the project for the new headquarters of one of Brazilian’s largest financial groups, studio mk27 was invited to rethink work experience after COVID-19. The new headquarters of one of Brazilian’s largest financial groups configures itself as a 700 sqm park with a radical sustainability approach. Immersed in tree canopies, a system of 4 stories prefab wooden marquises shelters modular and flexible working spaces interspersed with innovative art installations. As a reinterpretation of vernacular and modern Brazilian verandas, the design of extensives covered linear spaces seeks to amplify the permeability between exterior and interior spaces, letting nature and technology guide the daily paths of employees, clients and visitors. In between the slabs, expandable and replicable glass volumes host multiple activities according to its flexible layouts. Down into the park’s valley, an elegant wooden structure shapes a bridge building that hosts events, seminars and recordings. It connects not only pathways but also the company’s activities with the world. Other than that, the project includes a sports arena, a kids center and an interactive reception building.

Ourânia Building

Ourania is a small building, with 9 floors and 8 generous apartments located in São Paulo, next to the bohemian neighborhood of Vila Madalena. Situated in a higher level of the region, it benefits from a beautiful view from a green valley where the sun sets. Its modular structure, an orthogonal grid of concrete pillars and beams, results in completely flexible plans, where each apartment owner could define its layout. The twenty columns are rhythmically positioned in the perimeter of the 48 x 11 meters plan and, together with a central core that shelters stairs and elevators, structures the building – leaving generous spans to be arranged as desired. Every column can be coupled with a MEP shaft - in a way that wet areas can be located in different corners of the apartments. The same for terraces, that may open themselves north or south, as the users prefer. All internal spaces are facing one of the four façades that let air and sun inside. As a result, the façade is mobilized by the versatile arrangements each floor can have. Each 6-meter-wide module in between the grid is closed with an element that can go from glass transparency to white opacity. Amid them, perforated aluminum panels and automatized horizontal shutters dynamize the façade and generate a cinematic dance of sunlight and shadows inside each ambience. The elements' simple lines and pale textures control the overall playability and emphasizes the design’s minimalist approach. Ourania’s discrete shapes are inspired by japanese architecture, once inspired by Brazilian modernism. It embraces rationality, proportions and simplicity. When entering the dessatured surfaces, a more cozy feel is present in the interiors of common areas, where sunlight also plays an important role. Wooden tiles warm up the lobby, gym, and main corridors, while, in the spa, golden tiles embrace the pool and sauna. Different light filtering surfaces such as slatted panels (in the lobby), wooden pergola (in the spa) and horizontal blinds (in the gym and apartments) creates a sequence of moments that brings the orthogonal lines to life. When looking from outside, each gap on the grid is an invitation for a sensorial experience.

Ritmo Building

With almost 50 years of experience in the state of Minas Gerais, Concreto Construtora arrives with its first project in São Paulo, Ritmo. On the façade, brises in the form of concrete frames are replicated in a complex modular variation: sometimes framing a double height ceiling, sometimes breaking the volume and assuming the role of a guardrail, or even occupying the floor-ceiling of a unit. "Based on the concept of Gestalt, we start from the assumption that it is in understanding the totality that the perception of the parts takes place. Thus, we seek to break with the perception of floors, grouping and reorganizing the different heights of the modules to bring a new composition to the whole," explains Gabriel Ranieri, partner and project director. The mixed-use development, predominantly residential, makes use of this façade solution to create an aesthetic identity for the project and also guarantee the preservation of the apartments’ intimacy – since the internal skin of the building is practically entirely made of glass –, without obstructing the entrance of natural light. "In addition to the brises, we have a long terrace around the floor plans, giving the apartments a feeling of home", says Cadu Villela, architect and project manager at the office. The standard plans vary in typologies between an apartment with two suites, measuring 114m2, and another, with a suite, measuring 54m2. The layout was also designed to make it possible to unify the units – without major internal works –, creating the possibility of configuring an apartment with three suites. Ritmo also stands out for its relationship with the city, whose program at street level creates permeability between public and private spaces. The ground floor was designed to be both inviting and functional. Access to the business address is separated from vehicle and resident entrances by a curved plinth made of wooden slats. "This more organic wooden gesture aims to adapt the scale to the pedestrian, while the building rests on it, in a kind of access marquee, without walls or railings - a ground floor continuation of the public space that integrates the project into the city. ", explains Ranieri. The social and well-being areas, as well as the leisure equipment, are distributed between the ground floor and the top floor, where all residents have the opportunity to enjoy a privileged view of the city of São Paulo.

Sabará Children's Hospital

Designed to become the largest pediatric complex in Latin America, the new Sabara Children’s Hospital will have the capacity to house up to 130,000 appointments per year, promoting pleasant aesthetic and sensory experiences in a structere with 120 inpatient beds and 60 ICU beds dedicated to pediatric and adolescent patients with complex diseases. Sabará’s new hospital follows the premise that children are people in development phase and, therefore, require spaces and processes that help them reach their full potential. To achieve this goal, the defined program accommodates the children’s families, offers activities focused on child growth, promotes stimulating experiences, and ensure the well-being of all the professionals involved in the treatment process. The building’s architecture itself welcomes users with an organic design, in which curves replace sharpe angles, as a strategy to favor the circulation and reinforce the idea of receptiveness that a hospital dedicated to children should convey. Glass panels cover the entire exterior, punctuated by vertical brise-soleils that control natural lighting in the interiors and give identity and rhythm to the façade. The lines dialogue with the columns on the ground floor - a double ceiling height space -, where the pilotis creates a wide roof, permeable to pedestrians and equally inviting for vehicles to get in and out of the hospital. Upon entering, a central atrium cuts the building vertically, through all the floors, up to the top of the largest volume. Longitudinal coverings and trees make the view upwards even more imposing and magical – like a tunnel connecting the earth and the sky or a portal to another dimension –, in a way that instigates children’s imagination. The mobile at the top of the atrium plays a similar role. Its organic shapes, light tones and different heights positions makes room for imagination: it can look like a forming cloud, falling rain, or even a small waterfall reflecting the sun’s brightness in gentle movements. These resources provide abundant natural light and act assertively in the integration with the exterior landscape. One of the hospital objectives is to provide infrastructure to well accommodate families during hospitalizations and treatments, since today 50% of Sabará’s patients are up to 5 years old, an age group that requires more time for medical treatment, hospitalization and attention. The new Sabará Children’s Hospital explore the influence of nature in human health. The well-being and serenity transmitted by natural elements - such as wood, textile and vegetation - combined to the lightness and subtlety of the children’s dreams universe make the building a powerful architectural synthesizes, that offer the better conditions to the body and mind of all people, at all ages. Construction: Afonso França Engenharia.

Senac São Miguel Paulista Unit

> Senac São Miguel Paulista Unit: With more than 70 years’ activity in professional education and offering a significant number of free courses, Senac - Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Comercial [National Commercial Apprenticeship Service] is a Brazilian institution that really does help achieve social inclusion in the labor market and stimulates entrepreneurship in the country. When Senac, with its strategic vision on the impact and transformational potential of the new venture in the region, commissioned the architectural project for its 5th unit in the east of the city and the 60th in the State of São Paulo, it established five basic guidelines for us: to devise a solution for the biggest unit they have ever opened that would consider the infrastructure necessary for an intense flow of people and serving 25,000 students a year, 80% of whom receive free places; to select materials, components and construction systems in an extremely strict technical manner in order to achieve excellent indices in terms of performance, durability and maintenance; to anticipate the infrastructure needed for guaranteeing the constructed areas could be used in a flexible manner and that any future expansion would be easy; to establish synergy with Senac’s contemporary teaching proposal that values diversity, creativity and multi-disciplinarity; to create a reference point in the urban landscape in order to fortify bonds with the community and stimulate the local development. Located in the east of São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, in extremely densely-populated region that suffers from large gaps in its cultural and educational equipment despite having more than 378,000 inhabitants, the architectural project increases the quality of local education and professional qualification, improves social interaction and provides more local leisure and culture options. With 26,000sqm built on a plot of land of approximately 8,000sqm, the complex has 27 laboratories for informatics, fashion, design, gastronomy and for other technical courses; 20 classrooms and other rooms for conducting research into new technology; an auditorium for 200 people; a library that is open to all; and areas for social interaction and outdoor leisure activities. The largest unit ever constructed by the client, the school was opened in March 2018 having received an investment of approximately US$ 30 million. The inside and outside areas were designed to ensure flexible use and allow for changes in the construction, in order to accommodate both new market demands and contemporary worldwide trends. It can also adapt to any updating that is needed because of the constant changes there are in course programs and student profiles. There are lounges for teaching activities and laboratories that are for both practical and theoretical learning experiences in interactive mobile technologies, while the reading and interaction areas in the garden are integrated with the traditional classrooms. The architecture heightens meta-sensory stimulation, so the learning process also occurs by way of shapes and colors, the furniture and the perceptions that are transmitted through the visual communication and lighting technology that is used. Wide sidewalks and squares are connected via internal tree-lined avenues that integrate the public and private areas. Whether through its architecture or because of its school program, the complex establishes dialogue with the community, arouses curiosity with regard to using the library - perhaps for the first time in their life for many of the local residents - and invites people to take advantage of this educational equipment that we designed to boost the local economic development. > The quality of the design needed to achieve the ambition of going beyond the client’s briefing and expectations: The design of São Miguel Paulista Unit has concepts that are essential to any approach to contemporary world problems. It is a meta-project that highlights: adaptability, flexibility, social inclusion, the educational system, public-private relationships and universal design. The architectural utility used a volumetric composition approach and divided the complex into three integrated blocks and areas with a functional design that are in accordance with the educational, cultural and leisure activities they house. Right from the start, when the location that was chosen for the educational complex was strategically located on the liveliest avenue in the neighborhood offering frequent public transport and intense commercial activity, up until the time when each of the architectural solutions was defined and conceived, the purpose was to strengthen bonds with the community, awaken a feeling of belonging and boost local economic development. The structure of the three integrated blocks was designed to guarantee connectivity and visual permeability. Covered in glass that offers acoustic protection for reducing noise and using a brise-soleil solution in strategic places, the complex allows the students to enjoy the landscape and the green of the gardens and take maximum advantage of the daylight. It also allows the people who are passing by the street to see the activities inside the building, which is a way of showing off the vocational courses offered by Senac in a very real way. In harmony with the architectural solution, the program of monthly activities on offer to the public values the origin of a large part of the local residents and preserves the local historical memory, which is strongly characterized by the culture of the northeast of Brazil. Recognized as a local landmark and a synonym for the transformational epicenter of the neighborhood on which it has had a strong social impact, the project arouses interest and curiosity and a feeling of a bond of affection. It also establishes a connection with those who live in the region and brings public and private spheres closer together by inviting students, teachers, college employees and members of the community to share spaces, such as the central plaza and the library, and to take part in the extensive cultural program that is offered on an ongoing basis.

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.

Occupation of Ford Factory

Pulso Hotel

Where the sophistication of international hospitality meets the welcoming Brazilian identity: located in São Paulo’s financial hub, Pulso Hotel embodies a blend of modernity and cultural immersion, seamlessly integrating art, gastronomy, design, music, and wellness. The brand redefines hospitality as integral to cultural life with high-level artistic production, while fostering a dialogue between the city, its guests, visitors, and passersby. The aim was to create environments that felt like a second home, warm and authentic; a place that reflects the dynamic spirit of São Paulo – an immersive, engaging experience rooted in its context. Surrounded by external and internal gardens, the hotel lobby functions as a vibrant social hub rather than a traditional reception. It forms a grand portico that links Pulso directly to three signature venues in a symbiotic relationship. Bistrô Charlô Restaurant features green lacquer, ceramic tiles, wooden accents, stone shard flooring and large glazed openings overlooking greenery; just across, Cha Cha Boulangerie combines bakery and rotisserie, with a mural of São Paulo’s graphic topography by artist Carla Caffé wrapping around the upper walls. Both are linked to the lobby through framed views—whether it’s the sight of a fireplace or a pass-through bar window. Adding to this scene is Sarau Bar, a cozy spot featuring pocket shows and signature cocktails, in a space with wood-acoustic lowered ceilings, bronze mirrored walls, a marble bar, intimate lighting and carpeted flooring. Integrated into the architecture, the artwork Mácula by Nuno Ramos – 30-meter-long Braille-inscribed artwork – is featured indoors, serving as a backdrop. A curated collection of over 300 art pieces – selected to reflect São Paulo’s cultural richness and highlight local artists – contributes to a sensory experience, creating the hotel’s identity in common and private areas. The furniture selection includes pieces by Brazilian designers such as Jorge Zalszupin, Sergio Rodrigues, Carlos Motta, Percival Lafer, and Geraldo de Barros. Wood, concrete, straw, stone, glass, metal: through texture and color of each materiality, the spaces are designed to engage the senses and evoke sensations and memories. Pulso Hotel is a pursuit of essential elements, where raw materials meet refined details in a commitment to excellence at every scale. Each of the 57 units (ranging from 32 to 64 sqm) offers a unique experience: the architect personally selected objects from antique shops and São Paulo’s iconic Bixiga market. With a timeless aesthetic, the interiors incorporate elements such as veined marble bathrooms and capitoné upholstery. Combining comfort with technology, they are all automated with Alexa voice control. Pulso is part of the Praça Henrique Monteiro development, which reimagines the mixed-use typology through a cohesive architectural vision. Designed entirely by the same firm – from urban planning to architecture, from interiors to a selection of finishings and furniture – the project ensures continuity in form, materiality, and spatial experience. The landscaping weaves greenery throughout the design, creating a sense of unity: the elevated square is thoughtfully designed with trees visible from the suspended glass volume, which houses leisure/wellness facilities: pool, gym, and spa.

GGL House

Located in São Paulo, the GGL residence was built on a long and narrow plot of land, allowing for maximization of space in an urban context, while meeting the needs of a young family. The layout – spacious within the plot – is comprised of a basement, a ground floor, and an upper floor, which respectively constitute the service area, social spaces, and intimate living spaces. The residence also features a solarium on the roof. The design aims to be new and unexpected all while respecting the architectural style of neighboring dwellings. The proposed concept reinterprets the traditional home: the gable roof is integrated with insulating vertical slats, creating a box-like silhouette highlighting both open and closed spaces, and enclosing the upper floor and solarium. The roof’s asymmetrical slope and openings allow the solarium to be used and creates an intimate space for contemplation amongst the tree tops. The upper floor is comprised of intimate living spaces, which receive daylight in a unique fashion throughout the day due to the interplay between the open and closed spaces. The social floor is characterized by a concrete gable that splits the space; on one side, the pool, adjacent to a green wall, ventilates and illuminates the ground-level entry, and is adjoined by a glass frame enclosure that stands out for its ability to flexibly extend the two spaces. A block overlaid with a wire screen houses the kitchen and the service area. The sunken block brings coziness into the ambiance, while the living room takes up the remainder of the space, accentuated by a higher ceiling, featuring an exclusive view of the rich vegetation of the neighboring land. Material choice was driven by the following considerations: variety in textures (concrete, wood, clay, metal, and glass), neutral hues, and low maintenance needs for exposed elements (such as choice in concrete and wire screen).

Leaf Loefgren

A complete and complex building, focused on promoting the well-being of users, passersby and all forms of life in Brazil’s largest city. Neighboring one of São Paulo’s most important icons - Ibirapuera Park -, Leaf Loefgren was created as a promoter of urban interactions and connections. With spaces designed for a variety of uses - residential, commercial, corporate and public leisure -, the building sits on a challenging terrain, with slopes of 7 meters overcome by pilotis that provide physical and visual permeability to the complex of multiple squares, paths and possibilities. Taking advantage of the natural unevenness of the terrain, the team of architects and designers established a dynamic that invites the public, with the creation of squares, gardens and active facades that attract and shelter people of different profiles, with special attention to the traditional residents of the neighborhood, whose houses guided the design of the building and determined its distance from the ground, in order to preserve the landscape, lighting and ventilation in these century-old residences that welcome the Leaf Loefgren as a special neighbor, standing with respect and opening doors to new experiences in the neighborhood. The combination of wood, concrete and glass, solidity and emptiness, results in dynamic volumes, which interact with each other and with the surroundings to promote the best living conditions for users, whether they are householders of the residential towers, workers in the corporate slabs, employees and customers of the stores on the ground floor or pedestrians attracted by the open squares. With contemporary national and international references, Leaf Loefgren is marked by its imposing and inviting architecture, a symbiosis between natural and built environments, where life (and greenery) occupies the voids carefully designed by the team of architects.

Pacaembu House

The project is organized between two streets, whose slope is 7 meters apart. The terrain slope is solved by connecting the levels by stairs and elevator. This topographical situation made it possible to take advantage of the view of the residential and wooded neighborhood as a starting point for the layout of the program. On the ground floor are the living room, dining room, space for a fireplace and cigar store - the social areas being integrated into the veranda with the swimming pool; on a lower level, there is the gourmet area, which is connected to the garden and the fish pond; and on the upper level, there are bedrooms and a family room. In the swimming pool area, illuminated planes covered by glass make up the floor, announcing through transparency what happens underground. There, a corridor surrounded by cyclopean concrete walls, molded in loco with stones, gains natural light through strategically placed skylights. Access is possible by a staircase located in the living and dining area, which gives access to the tunnel and has as its final destination the gourmet space and garden with a lake. The finishes and coatings have a neutral palette with colors of sand variation. The combination of cast-in-place concrete and wood stands out as a design element. The cyclopean concrete, seen on the façade and on the internal coatings, was molded in loco with stones, a challenge in the execution of the project, since several prototypes were necessary until, finally, reaching the ideal pigmentation and the allocation of the stones, placed one by one, like rubber stamps on cement. As for the wood used in the execution of the façade’s overhead doors, dueto the large overhang, they demanded equal attention during execution, in order to guarantee a broad look of the concrete front. Despite being a large house in terms of area, it does not seem grandiose due to its implantation in the land and its surrounding landscaping, which resembles a native forest. The lighting is indirect, seeking to have as few points as possible on the ceiling, and the entrance of natural light, quite abundant. The light and shadow strategy is noticed right at the double-height entrance, where a huge angled cutout in the ceiling creates a scenographic effect due to the penetration of the sun’s rays. The interior project had great support and participation from the clients. It is made of elements in tones similar to the rustic stone and wood finishes, but marked by green and orange marble details. The composition of themateriality of the furniture is made with a mix of natural linen, leather, suede, bouclé-type cotton fabrics and wool - all in sober colors, leaving the highlight for some spots of natural stone in terracotta tone, and some pieces in dark green tone.

Califórnia Building (São Paulo)

Skyscraper.

Eiffel Building

Skyscraper.

Montreal Building

Apartment building.

Bio Jardins

The coronavirus pandemic has caused profound changes in the real estate market, especially for corporate spaces. Adhesion to the home office and mass departure from large cities generated a vacancy of 50% in commercial buildings in São Paulo’s city. For Perkins&Will São Paulo architects, workspaces will not cease to exist, but will adapt to the changing companies and their employee’s needs. The global architecture and design studio created Bio Jardins to promote the best relationship between people, workspaces and urban spaces. The 60 meters high boutique building is smaller than the developments under construction in the surroundings – in Rebouças’ region -, but stands out for its façade, which brings together concrete, wood and vegetation in an outstanding design, different from the usual mirrored corporate buildings. The concrete slabs and the wooden brises refer to the brutalism and São Paulo’s traditional architecture of the 60s and 70s, with a polisher atmosphere. Biophilic design has been the main approach in this project that, in addition to wood, has abundant vegetation. “The idea was to connect the corporate environment to nature. We use balconies with medium-sized plants and wooden louvers to warm the room and create a welcoming, contemplative atmosphere,” explains Douglas Tolaine, the studio's Design Director. Besides the natural elements, the design stands out for its organic forms and for the variation in the position of the balconies on each floor, as well as the distance between the brises, which give dynamism to the façade. “We use the elements to improve the impression of verticalization and magnificence in a building that is not that big and doesn't even occupy a large area. Thus, we give the feeling of height in a tower built at the limit of its constructive constrains”, explains Douglas. Bio Jardins also brings biophilia indoors. The floors have exposed concrete pillars, wooden ceilings and vegetation for a pleasant experience of connection with nature, impacting the well-being and users’ performance. The tower also has three double-height floors, which enhance the views of Rebouças Avenue and the Jardins neighborhood. The connection with the city is encouraged by the façade on the ground floor - facing Rebouças Avenue and Chabad Street - with the possibility of integration with the surrounding buildings to create an active sidewalk. The initiative should bring more pedestrian movement to the region, providing safety during the entire day. “The revitalization that Rebouças has been undergoing aims to bring the sidewalks back to life. This ground floor is one of the best tools to recreate the movement and the connection between people and urban spaces, which has been lost for so long on this avenue”, says Douglas Tolaine.