POWERHOUSE PARRAMATTA MUSEUM

Bernardes Arquitetura participated in the international competition for the new Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, Australia, together with Scale Architecture, Agencia TPBA, and Burle Marx offices. Our team was one of the six finalists, having competed with offices from all over the world.

The new MAAS emerges from a large urban gesture. By placing its largest presentation spaces on the ground plane in separate volumes, the museum creates an iconic public space in the heart of the block. It features a soaring 22-meter cantilever reaching towards Parramatta River and creates an urban scaled roof. Sitting 28m above the ground this creates a grand scaled covered public space, protecting from rain and sun.

This civic outdoor void is capable of hosting large scale events and will make Powerhouse Parramatta one of the most recognizable public squares in Sydney. The edges are defined by fine-grained, human-scaled building elements, and add vibrancy and life to the urban gesture. The museum’s riverside steps connect this space down to the river, marking a natural place to sit and gather.

The permeable façade comprises a system of vertical louvers, delicately patterned and variably toned, they provide an expressive skin that is legible from both the urban and architectural scales. Operating in mixed ventilation mode, the operable façade allows circulation routes to be open to the air.

PASCOAL VITA BUILDING

Delicately landed on the 525 square meter trapezoidal plot on the corner of Pascoal Vita and Napoleão Laureano streets, in Vila Beatriz neighborhood, in São Paulo, next to Alto de Pinheiros neighborhood, Pascoal Vita Building has privileged views of the city.

Taking into account the strategic location of the land and the legislation of the neighboring neighborhood, strictly residential and of low height, the building takes advantage of the unobstructed view to the west, concentrating the social areas of the units, which are protected by automated translucent shades with a wind sensor, which can be opened or closed by residents. This solution allows future residents to visually enjoy not only the intense green that characterizes this region, but also from more distant neighborhoods, such as Morumbi, Butantã and Jaguaré.

With a horizontal base made up of four floors – two above street level – and a small main tower with seven floors and a terrace, in 7,884 square meters, twelve housing units are distributed between the second and ninth floors – two per floor – of 319 to 443 square meters, and four of them are duplex. All units are equipped with private access and entrance halls.

In the first of the three garage basements, there are twelve individual workshops for each one of the apartments, in addition to a support area, technical areas and stairwells and elevators. Raised for greater privacy and better use of the view, on the ground floor are the leisure areas: gym, sauna, spa and swimming pool with a 25-meter streak with skylight for zenith lighting. The three closed blocks receive translucent polycarbonate panels and coumaru wood slats.

The volumes and flowerbeds of the landscaping follow fluid lines as opposed to the lines of architecture. A garden terrace with a wide variety of species on the first floor expands the amount of green and leisure areas of the development.

On the second floor, there is the first floor of two of the duplexes, with an extensive C-balcony that surrounds the units, which in turn is responsible for generating a certain aesthetic lightness for the facade when viewed from the street. These units have the smallest apartment on the south side, with two suites, so the largest is on the opposite wing, with three. On the type floors, four and five suites respectively, one of which is for service. The penthouse duplex apartments follow the same number of rooms as the lower duplexes, with slight variations in the plan, in favor of the access stair to the terrace equipped with barbecue grill, gourmet area and private pool.

With all the apartments facing the west, this condition allowed a maximum use of the skyline perspective to each of the units, since the social areas, comprising a terrace, living, dining room and kitchen, arranged linearly and in a straightforward manner, mirrored in relation to each floor, they look precisely over the three facades, having as extremes the trapezoidal perimeter terraces, defined on the front facade by acute triangles and on the posterior facade by obtuse triangles.

On the facade, sliding glass sheets, together with small frames fixed at the bottom and low walls of 53cm high masonry, create bulkheads for the installation of metal planters with a light gray finish, which come from automatic irrigation and drainage. These are embedded in the modulation of the window frames, which in turn provide a welcoming relationship with the surroundings of the neighborhood. On the other hand, the exoskeleton in dark gray tone, gives striking features to the visual language of the enterprise.

URCA BUILDING

Located on a plot of irregular pentagonal design in Urca, a predominantly residential neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro and popularly known for the natural complex of the Pão de Açúcar hills and another one with the same name as the neighborhood, this building with nine apartments is proposed from ground floor, four floors and coverage distributed in 2,700 square meters.

Seeking the best use of areas, the architectural proposal took advantage of the rates – of occupancy, height and setbacks – required by the Rio de Janeiro city hall, creating an offset from the perimeter of the land to the design of the implantation. From this, the sectorization of each of the housing units by floor was defined, the first being with the living and intimate zones to the east; and the second with living spaces to the east and bedrooms to the west, prioritizing the late afternoon sun.

With the reduced size of the land and the lack of underground pavement to accommodate the parking lot, the central core of the ground floor follows the same perimeter as the implantation, but indented, and its vertices are diluted in curves. In turn, these setbacks provide structural balances and only two front pillars are visible from the sidewalk, while the others are mimicked between the interior walls. This solution, added to the free areas resulting from the building’s setbacks on the land, creates space for 17 parking spaces. The eaves also protect visitors from the direct sunlight and rain.

Lobby, vallet’s living, vertical circulation centers, storages (building’s, personal and garbage) and technical area are organized in the trapezoidal volume and the access of the last two is carried out from the outside for better use of space.

Each of the four type floors has two residential units. With the main façade facing southeast, its share it, with an L plan respectively, where the social area of both and the single suites of the first unit receive sunstroke during most of the morning, and the double suite facing west, with sun in the afternoon, as well as the other bedrooms in the second unit.

Each apartment has a ten meter long balcony. In plan, the front portion has a mirrored design, accommodating the living and dining room, kitchen, laundry and gourmet area. In the rear portion, due to the irregularity of the lot, there are three suites – master and two single –, and in each unit, one has a private balcony. Focusing on the views, one of the sides faces the Pão de Açucar hill; and the other to Botafogo Bay and Corcovado.

Crowning the building, the penthouse apartment, with the same perimeter as the other floors, has a different layout and the balcony slab is indented in the front and sides, generating solariums and a certain visual lightness when viewed from the street. Living and dining rooms are positioned in the central area and integrated with leisure and outdoor dining space arranged at the ends, through the C-shaped balcony. In the eastern area, there is the kitchen, laundry, bedroom and service bathroom. In the transversal area to the west, four suites, two of them with a double bed and the others with two single beds each. The largest bedroom is equipped with a closet and a balcony.

Bernardes adopted a silent approach to the project and as one of the strategies, on the perimeter of the entire building, flower boxes give green to the façade, which will grow over time together with vertical louvers in slatted wood that act as a veil, protecting from the sun’s rays directly, while it also contributes to the project’s identity.

PHENIX BOAT

Designed as a nomadic leisure house, with 33 meters in length (98 feet) and four levels, the Phenix boat had its interior project developed by Bernardes Arquitetura in partnership with Manoel Chaves, responsible for naval architecture.

On the lower deck with access from the stern (where the mechanical room is located) there are four suites in the central area – two of them with a double bed and the other two with three single beds each, one bunk bed -, and two sailor cabins in the front area. The single bedrooms are finished with wooden sheets on the furniture and walls, bringing more comfort to the space, as well as individual reading lamps and bed linen with blue fabric that alludes to the tone of the sea.

In the bow (main deck) are concentrated the leisure areas. At the stern is the veranda, which is transformed into a dining area with a table for up to eight seats, and a sofa covered in fabric for outdoor use, with greater durability in the maritime climate. Inside, the central area receives the same deck as the outside and wooden sheets on the walls, switches and fixed furniture. On the sides, two sofas are responsible for dividing the living and dining space. Sofas are upholstered in gray fabric and pillows in navy blue tones, like the chairs outside.

The integration of the kitchen and dining area is carried out through a side opening with direct access to the main counter, as a support area and plate tray. With an L-shaped layout following the design of the vertical circulation, the space is equipped with modern appliances especially designed for vessels. The cabinet handles have the armhole system, being hidden and saving space. In the back, a small pantry.

In the front area, there is the master suite, with a closet and interiors covered in wood with wide openings. On the side sofa, drawers expand the storage areas, and a baseboard with effect lighting, with a lighting project signed by Lightworks.

With an elevated view, the upper deck receives the TV room and a new balcony, with beanbags, a dining table that seats up to 10 people and a bench. In the bow, there is the captain’s cabin with two service stations. Meanwhile, the fly deck is responsible for concentrating a solarium.

VC OFFICE

To renovate a house of historic value from a semi-detached residential complex into an office, Bernardes Arquitetura sought solutions that maximized natural lighting and the sectorization of spaces.

In the front hall, we concentrate a simple reception composed of a small counter, and on this same space, a volume shaped from special curved glass panels that configure the main meeting room. The sheets of glass are attached directly to the metallic structure in the ceiling, free of frames and enhancing the organic design. Inside, the main wall is finished in the original stone of the house, and in the ceiling, wooden slats were installed. For convenience during meetings, a perimeter curtain allows it to be closed.

Preserving the memory of the original architecture, the stone is also present on the opposite wall and it was decided to keep it, receiving indirect lighting through the wall washing system, which simulates zenith lighting, with a lighting project developed in partnership with LD Studio.

In order to make better use of natural lighting and ventilation in the work spaces, the residence’s original central span was converted into a patio, either for meals or as an independent meeting room. At the rear, there are service spaces on the ground floor and a small room on the upper floor. These are protected by rustic wooden slatted panels as brises soleil, helping to filter light and privacy.

Creating the atmosphere of the green neighborhood to the project, in addition to the natural raw material brises, the central patio receives a vertical garden with tropical species and burnt cement on the floor.

On the first floor, the main room is equipped with a variety of workstations and a table with a sinuous design. Creating an aesthetic unity, the same wood as the ceiling of the meeting room on the ground floor is applied to this one, and the floor receives wooden rulers. In lighting, linear lamps.

CWN HOUSE

In Santana de Parnaíba, a city 40 kilometers away from São Paulo downtown, is the condominium where this residence was built. The plot with 1,850 square meters and approximately 6 meters of unevenness accommodated the house with 1,750 square meters of built area distributed over three floors. The L-shaped design and one of the diagonal wings has a steel frame and stone closures on the south face (opaque) and frames and brises on the north face (translucent).

Two axes organize the sectorization of the house from the volume in the shape of a boomerang, so that in the wing parallel to the street are the social areas and master suite, while in the second wing, in an obtuse angle, the service and intimate areas. In this first, the central area accommodates the double height living room, integrated into the garden of tropical species with landscaping designed by Isabel Duprat. Inside, from the modulation of the steel structure, the four upper faces are closed with glass and slatted wood panels, the one facing the garden with brise-soleil that follow the same alignment and dimension of the slats of the other panels. This approach allowed for strategic views from the upper floor, as well as protection against direct sunlight, in the case of brises-soleil.

It is worth mentioning that the brises-soleil detailed by the Bernardes Arquitetura team are supported by metal trays covered in metal plates with the same painting as the structure, which also plays the role of eaves.

On the lower face of the main module’s highlighted wall, the closure is made by applying stone. In the furniture, pieces by Brazilian designers make up the living room, such as the armchairs Mole by Sérgio Rodrigues and Vareta by Joaquim Tenreiro. On the left side, the space (with a simple height) is cut off perpendicularly by a wall where is the dining room, with access to the kitchen and back hallway.

At the opposite end, the veranda of the same dimension as the living room’s structural module, but with a simple height, can be integrated into the interior if the frame is open. The ceiling, volume of the barbecue grill and countertop receive wooden slats and rulers (the same as in the other spaces), and stone on the counter and sink niche. For furniture, the Box sofa by Jader Almeida in harmony with the Asturias Fixa armchairs by Carlos Motta on the garden.

The stone board flooring of the internal spaces was also used in the external area, and the absence of unevenness emphasizes the spatial continuity. The sash rail was embedded between the boards.

Bringing coziness and highlighting the natural tones of the materials, the lighting design, developed in partnership with Estúdio Carlos Fortes, uses a warm color temperature.

On the upper floor there are four suites, and due to the arrangement of the central void, the master suite is accommodated on the right side and accessed by a walkway, while the other bedrooms are distributed along the east-west axis. Wooden brises-soleil provides privacy and transparency to the garden, which contributes to the pleasant ambience of the resting spaces. In the basement, there is a garage for up to five cars and technical areas.