2016 MCHAP
Workshop House - TECNOMEC
PAX.ARQ
São Paulo, Brazil
May 2015
PRIMARY AUTHOR
Paula Sertório Victor Paixão
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Alecsander Gonçalves (trainee) Isabela Fatarelli (trainee) Lucas Lemos (trainee) Miguel Muralha (Architect) Murilo Gabriele (trainee) Renata Lovro (Architect) Renata Stefanelli (Architect) Sebastian Perez Sarralde (Architect) Ubiratã Prilip (Trainee)
CLIENT
Tiago Seddig Jorge
PHOTOGRAPHER
Bruno Candiotto
OBJECTIVE
Considering the program and urban guidelines, we needed to ensure a project that demonstrates its importance as an institution, as it would be a place for supplying services [workshop and shop-school] in addition to a discrete and cozy residence. The challenge of ensuring efficiency for the different uses of the building conducted the project. The programs could not conflict with each other; since they had to function independently but in a helpful way. One of the greatest architectural features is a sloped slab on the first floor which has an important role for the project, guaranteeing natural ventilation and lighting, acoustic protection and thermal comfort for the environments. In addition, it works as a visual blockage for the classrooms and the residence, providing privacy from the outside. Below it is the dynamometer room that has powerful exhaust fans to ensure that the room doesn't get contaminated. The sloped slab works in this case as an element that directs this exhaustion whilst protecting the upper floors from the noises coming from the dynamometer room. Furthermore, it provides protection from the sunset and brings natural light to the workshop during the working day, minimizing the need of artificial lighting.
CONTEXT
Having in the same project different uses was a big challenge and at the same time an essential condition for the project. The particular needs of each one of the uses had to be carefully evaluated to meet the client´s request, who participated actively in the whole process. Definitely what most conditioned the construction were the impetus and the client´s passion for his work which along the years took his craft to the last consequences, always sharing his knowledge and his desire to professionalize a category that has poor training in Brazil with few places for teaching specialized mechanics. Therefore, it was required to consider all the personal needs to work, teach and live, also combining the way he carries them all in this machine of contemporary living.
PERFORMANCE
The project has a programmatic density that reflects the needs of a metropolis like São Paulo, a city that lacks urban mobility, where the offsets are difficult and time consuming, even though in many cases the distances are short. The location has a lot of importance to the project, because it is near to a train station, metro station, bus terminal and important city-level access roads. The site, located in a corner, generates a confluence of pedestrians and cars. It was essential to design for an urban condition in transformation, considering the importance of this new building, which would become a small pole of attraction. Considering Pinheiros, the neighborhood where the project is located, as an old neighborhood where residents have a strong relationship with the territory, we focused on the sidewalk, retracting the floor and opening up the block’s corner, enabling meetings and strengthening urban relations. The operation of the building couldn't hurt urban life, so the exhaust system of the workshop is planned to prevent carbon dioxide emissions towards pedestrians. It is interesting to observe the reaction of the people, from the construction until the completion of the work. Once the design is diverse from other existing buildings in the neighborhood, which generates enough curiosity and enthusiasm.