VILLAS FASANO

The project for Villas Fasano aims to establish a harmonious relationship with the local landscape.

While the ground floor and recreational areas are fully integrated into their surroundings, the intimate spaces of the house are sheltered in an elevated pavilion, offering a wide perspective of the horizon.
The cross-shaped layout defines the two pavilions that distribute the entire program of the house. The cross-shaped layout defines the two pavilions that distribute the entire architectural program of the house. In the lower pavilion, the axis towards the beach is characterized by the solidity of pigmented concrete and accommodates the social and service areas. On the upper floor, the lightness of the wooden brises guarantees the privacy of the rooms while promoting the integration of the building into the landscape.

CIDADE JARDIM TOWER

Invited to a closed competition for the development of a mixed-use building, promoted by a well-known developer in the city of São Paulo and with whom we had previously worked, this occasion represented a great opportunity for Bernardes Arquitetura.

Proposed for a plot at the point of convergence of two of the main business axes of São Paulo, the Brigadeiro Faria Lima and Luís Carlos Berrini avenues and the residential neighborhood Cidade Jardim, the Cidade Jardim Tower unites commercial, corporate and residential spaces, distributed in 37 floors that privilege the skyline view.

The tower’s intermediate position between the skyscrapers and housing blocks required a transition typology that merged the monumental and low scales of its surroundings in a single building. In the privileged urban situation, a public square is created at the shortest edge of the lot, giving access to the main entrance of the business center and connecting the two streets to the building.

One of the issues of the Bernardes Arquitetura team was how to introduce the 115 meter high tower silently over the landscape and, above all, in the urban axis that is still undergoing transformations. With this in mind, it was decided to fragment the different programs into four overlapping volumes, so that each mass in trapezoidal section and rounded vertices is shaped with smaller dimensions as it is raised, as a cascade effect that makes a fluid transition. Between each one, amenity areas are created from the retreat of the frames, which give rise to a large eave and terrace.

In the openings of the entire building, slanted frames create rhythm and greater depth to the facade, coated in marble on the first floors and zinc on the others. Its angles maximize direct sun protection while directing the views.

On the massive base are the commercial spaces – a bank on the ground floor with double height and mezzanine, and on the terrace with independent access, a restaurant and bar.

Between each of the upper sections, shared spaces are created whose programs vary according to their public access. From the third to the sixth floor, with an open plan with a central vertical circulation core, are intended for offices.

With a recessed area and considerable cantilevered eaves that provide a shaded area during the day, in addition to perimeter planters, the seventh floor locates a living area for residents of the lofts from the eighth to the nineteenth floor. On the twenty-first floor, another terrace of a lower dimension and with an unobstructed view above the adjacent buildings concentrates a living area for the residents of the apartments from the twenty-first to the thirty-seventh floor.

JSL HOUSE

Located in a residential condominium in Paraty, in Rio de Janeiro, a few meters away from the beach, the JSL House was designed from the idea of connection – visual, privileging the view to the sea; and living and leisure spaces.

Arriving on the street, the visitor is faced with the steel volume carefully arranged on the landscaping with tropical species. On the left side, a triangular pergola, ingeniously created from the extension of the steel beams protects the garage between the garden.

Entering the residence, a lowered area with traditional height is later surpassed by the double height, from the structural steel mesh.

At the perimeter of the entire residence, metal extenders are attached directly to the beams, where fixed brises soleil of the same material are installed, perpendicular to the bedrooms and gourmet area. These receive gray paint, following the same finish as the structure and frames. This solution enables thermal comfort from the shading of the social area, which, in addition to the generous opening of the window frames, contributes to abundant natural ventilation.

The living receives wooden slats on the walls that also cover the ceiling of the lowered area of the hall and dining room, bringing comfort. In the same pattern, access doors to the TV room and service areas are mimicked. At the double height of the living room, a large fixed glass next to the checkered mesh brise allows to see the vegetation, protecting it from exposure to the sun, like a veil.

In furniture and accessories, typically beach textures are reimagined in a contemporary way. Sofa and armchairs are finished in linen, while the rug is made of sisal. At the end of the dining room, a screen made of sailor rope.

Entrance hall, living and dining rooms become balconies when their frames are open to the gourmet area and the pool. Integrating the spaces, the same materials of the interior are used in the external floor and wall of the barbecue grill. On the roof, an awning with an electronic opening can be opened or closed.

At the center of the living room, the steel staircase connects the private areas to the ground floor. Above the hall, the home office allows a certain visual permeability directly to the beach from white metallic fins. In the bedrooms, sliding frames from floor to ceiling can be completely opened, which together with the colorless glass railing and breezes, bring the breeze and the blue of the horizon to the interior. The bedding follows a pattern of beach colors and textures, such as navy blue, ocher and nautical striped pattern, and the headboard receives the same wood used on the ground floor.

FG HOUSE

FG House was designed for a condominium about an hour and a half from São Paulo downtown for a couple and their children and arises from the fragmentation of the program through four trapezoidal volumes of pigmented concrete, in a harmonious arrangement on the 12,152 square meter plot and joined by the same linear axis.

The articulation between the different volumes sectorizes the residency program in such a way that the three frontal volumes protect the social and intimate areas, while the volume of the back portion concentrates the service spaces.

Taking advantage of the slope of the natural profile of the land in the northern portion, in the lower volume we find the TV and sauna room, which fits the program and thus disguises it without losing the perception of a single-storey house. Set back in relation to the upper floor, it receives closings in floor-to-ceiling glass panels, which, shaded, seem to disappear, creating the sensation of the main volume floating. The rest of the program is at the highest level.

Outside, grassy steps lead to access to the upper level, and at the side, the landscaping developed in partnership with Paisagismo d ’Orey Brasil receives philodendron shrubs. On the main level, the deck and infinity pool are finished in basalt. Like natural umbrellas, two trees provide shade for the sun loungers.

In this residence, the visual and physical limits between interior and exterior are diluted through design integration strategies. The same material as the deck (basalt) and lining of the balcony (modular in slatted wood) are used in the interior, and the living, dining and gourmet areas become a balcony when their frames are fully open to the pool and garden.

In the social volume, from a material point of view, the palette in natural tones brings comfort and well-being, where the reddish-colored pigmented concrete gables, wood in the ceiling and panels, and basalt on the floor and fireplace stand out.

In the furniture, the mixture of pieces (existing ones from the family, new ones from Brazilian designers, pieces from Minas Gerais, and solid wood) prevails, seeking the simplicity stripped of a country house. The fabrics of the armchairs and rugs follow a color palette in harmony with the architectural surfaces. It is worth mentioning that part of the furniture is integrated with the architecture, such as the fireplace (in basalt and soapstone) and the dining room sideboard (in marble).

The gourmet area serves as a support for the dining room and pool, and can be integrated individually into each of the spaces. The sliding wooden panels allow to be opened to the dining room or completely closed and only opening the glass frames to the outside. To ensure ventilation and natural lighting, cobogós – Brazilian hollow concrete elements – were used to close the side gable.

On the right side of the social volume, behind the living room, we have access to a small private TV room and master suite. On the opposite side, a staircase leading to the lower level is bathed in zenith lighting. In the bedroom, on the workbench, a linear tear in the concrete gable points strategically aimed at the garden.

With a special design by Bernardes Arquitetura, eight vertical wooden brises-soleil positioned transversely on the balcony of the rooms shade the interior while directing the view to the horizon. Attached to its structure, benches covered with the same wood and supported by a single pillar play the role of railing.

In the second volume, to the southwest, are the kitchen, laundry and three service suites. In the intimate portion, there are eight suites, two of which are extra suites, in addition to two intimate rooms, positioned in the two blocks of the southeastern portion.

In this residence, the linearity of the corridor is transformed into a gallery that crosses the succession of volumes, with a set of tears strategically arranged, sometimes in the vertical planes (walls), sometimes horizontal (slab), and which frame the external view. On the other hand, they allow light to fill the space, in a play of light and dark.

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.

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.