BUILT
Brasília, DF, 2021
Winner of the “IAB Centenário” Award 2021 Centro Oeste Region, Interiors and Design Category
This office is located in the “South Commercial Sector”, a central area of Brasília’s Plano Piloto, inside the Morro Vermelho Building, designed by architect João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé) in 1974. The building’s project mixes a concrete structure molded on site (beams, pillars) and vertical circulation tower with prefabricated slabs and façade elements. Our intervention divided the interior space of the standard floor into three large commercial rooms. We designed the common access floor and the internal space of one of the offices, in addition to defining general architectural guidelines for the other two commercial spaces. Our intervention removed suspended ceilings, elevated floors and other elements that had been installed over the years in order to expose the entire internal structure of the building. The objective was to “bare” the space and articulate its occupation through the 110cm modulation of the prefabricated slab panel of the original structure. Thus, the original “structural grid” organizes the distribution of new furniture and ceiling lights.
The orange color of the façade’s brises was originally defined by artist Athos Bulcão and was restored during the renovation works. Internally we also restored the fiberglass finish panels to the counterweight system for vertically opening the glass windows and reused the box spaces under the windows that were originally designed to accommodate wall-mounted air conditioners. To accommodate the new “split-system” HVAC equipment, we kept the original grille of this compartment and sealed it by fixing steel plates on its rear face, keeping its internal geometry apparent. In this way, the compartments currently function as isolated “shafts” for the operation of the condensers of the new system.
In the common area of the floor (photo) we have designed locksmith partitions and translucent glass that allow the natural light that comes from the facades to reach the corridor. Its modulation follows the original modulation of the building’s panel slabs, as well as the distribution of the lighting fixtures.
Authors:
Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho e Matheus Seco
Built surface: 120sqm
Project: 2020
Construction: 2020-2021
Contractor: Get Engenharia
Photos: Haruo Mikami
