Contemporary Brazilian Architecture

GCP House

Made for a family of four, the main materials of this house were corten steel and wood. The whole project is divided into two main perpendicular volumes: the private one is made of concrete, and the public one is made of a wooden structure. The house's most striking features are its copper clad louvers on the terrace separating the living room and the pool, which are not only there for aesthetic purposes: they're there to provide temperature control for that area of the house, protecting it from the heat.

Mipibu House

This narrow house is the answer to a common space problem present in the city of Sao Paulo, a city with little space and high land values; the terrain available was of 18.4 ft*98.4ft (5.6m*30m), where only the front was free of physical obstructions. The final occupation space available was of 557.7 ft2 (170m2).

The architects' answer was to cling to the borders and make breathable spaces in the middle, creating a series of interior gardens, which also act as space separators.The ground floor was assigned to dormitory and intimate spaces, as the interior gardens gave it more privacy and silence, and the second floor was left for the house's public spaces.

LLM House

This house aims to dialogue with its surroundings, a setting filled with vegetation and on in an irregular topography. With 3896.32 ft2 to fill, that was no easy task; the architects also wanted the house to maintain an intimate feel, which is why they came up with the solution of projecting the house in a series of levels, following the terrain.

The house consists of a series of terraces, on the inside and the outside, in a constant dialogue with the landscape and with itself.

ARCA

This "land ship" project, nicknamed "Arca" by the locals, was born as an attempt to adapt an Amazonian indigenous homing typology developed by the Asurini do Xingu tribes. The project was meant to be as little invasive as possible, which is why they opted for an easily assembled (and disassembled) self-sustaining structure that acted as a roof and walls at the same time. The empty spaces on either side were left translucent, which highly enhances the immersive characteristics of the house.

The house was thought to be a vacation cabin or a temporary guest home, for people to immerse in its natural surroundings; it can host up to families of four due its efficient use of space; the bedrooms can easily be turned into working spaces and living rooms.

Lygia Pape Gallery

This building was designed for one particular purpose: to house a single installation by Brazilian artist, Lygia Pape. The installation, a cube of 68.8976 ft * 68.8976 ft* 19.85 ft (21m*21m*6m), preset the dimensions of the building; as the installation consisted of a light show, the construction had to be completely dark- hence its hermeticity.

The shape of the building responds to the size of the plot available to it, and to it being directly after a slope; the building fit so narrowly into it, that the architects decided to soften the project's shape to make it less harsh and to make it appear less abruptly as one approaches the end of the slope; the angles make it look like it's further away than it is.

Infinity Tower KPF

This business tower rises up to 393.7 feet (120 meters) over the Sao Paulo Skyline. Located in the wealthy business district of Itaim Bibi, it houses companies such as Louis Vuitton. The project takes the concept of the sails to give shape to the building; it's made up of two "principal sails", the building's curved glass facade systems. The curvature was designed to provide broader views and better work spaces. With its 18 floors, the building fully uses the maximum floor occupation area permitted in Sao Paulo.