In a complex topography and a problematic geological situation, this building occupies the descending site with a two storey underground free plan office that allows the definition of a pilot is in the street level.
\”It cannot be Comercial\”. That was the first thing said by the young couple that own this apartment when we’ve had our first meeting and that really get along with our firm’s way of working. From that moment on we knew that this work would have strong potencials to be unique.
The building was conceived as an addition to a pre-existing weekend house. The guest house was placed between a maple tree and a cypress, inserted perpendicularly to the main construction. It is situated in the outskirts of São Paulo, inside a residential condo.
Studio GGA was hired in July 2011 to develop a refurbishment project for a 140sqm house located in a charming rowhouse neighborhood of the Jardins district, in Sao Paulo. The house, built in the 1930s, was disfigured by reforms made during the 1980s and 90s. The proposal was to recover the proportions of the facade, to expand the groundfloor, unifying dining area, kitchen and living room and to create a larger, more contemplative, outside area with a small outhouse in the back divided between a playing room, for the client’s daughters, a laundry and a restroom. On the upper floor a dressing room was built giving access – through a small mixed structure (concrete and steel) footbridge – to a private recreation area with a wooden hot tub.
As the capital and geographic center of the State of Tocantins, Palmas, has much to teach Brazil. Nationally known for its natural beauty, urban planning and economic potential, Palmas is growing in all directions at high speeds in comparison to its neighbors. The wide avenues and well-designed gardens make tourists and travelers fall in love with this beautiful “piece” of Brazil. As one of the fastest expanding cities in Brazil and with bold modern design this city has become, in 20 years, one of the most beautiful and best equipped in the north. Designed to “bring people together”, Palmas grows according to estimates of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the population growth of over 110% in 2008 compared with the population in 1996 to 86,116 inhabitants an estimated 184,010 inhabitants as well as higher economic growth compared to the national average.
Planned City of Palmas (Image Courtesy Urban Media)
The Pampulha lagoon in Belo Horizonte is full of architectural significance and to build on its margins means to be close to the modernist legacy. The building considers that recent history but also expresses its modern urban spirit with rural balconies and breezes.The land slope dialogues with the building and proposes fittings and suspensions.
Site area: 1243,00 m2 / constructed area: 454,00 m2
Architectonic team: João Diniz architect, autor/coordinator
Architects colaborators: José Luis Baccarini, Pedro Guadalupe, João Pedro Torres, Isabel Diniz, Caio Guerra, Clarissa Bastos, Elena Vale, Monica Ogura, Priscila Garcia.