Sao Paulo, Brazil

Colombia_325 – Loducca Agency

Triptyque

The brise-soleil figure – traditional component of tropical architecture – is the center of this architectural project. Located in an old neighborhood in São Paulo – which presently experiences radical changes – and in an avenue with busy traffic, the building faced north emerges as a strong and organic ‘incarnation’ of the urban and natural aggressions from this subtropical city – such as noise and solar radiation – and takes form by absorbing these aggressions. The noise produced by the street traffic is a potent atonic symphony à la “Helicopter – quartet”, by Stockhausen, which interferes directly in the building’s façade. There, an organic and fluid brise-soleil membrane deforms itself under the effect of the sound waves, creating several internal light and temperature filters. An opaque serigraphy attached to the internal glass wall acts as a second filter and reduces the discrepancies between external and internal ambiences by reproducing the negative shapes of the brise-soleil deformation. A concrete frame panel is connected to the ‘façade-membrane’, connecting the interior and exterior environments. The back façade opens itself to a tropical beach. In this façade, double opaque and single translucent glazings alternate, creating an intriguing visual game – like a binary musical rhythm – completed by neon lights placed randomly inside the double glass windows. All of the three floors are structured by a very strong vertical element – the concrete staircase. Its folded geometry connects and creates all internal rooms, from the parking lot to the solarium at the top floor – an infinite deck that opens up to the canopy of the trees around the building – what helps it merge with its surroundings.