Occupying a floor of the Oscar dos Santos Emboaba building – also designed by Perkins&Will São Paulo -, the new Almeida Kruger office opens like an art gallery, connecting interior and exterior with neutrality and flexibility.
Project Name: Almeida Kruger office
Studio Name: Perkins&Will São Paulo
Location: Rua Artur de Azevedo, 1877 – São Paulo – SP
Start: May/2024
Completion: September/2024
Built area: 350 sqm
Team: Fernando Vidal, Carlos Andrigo, Bruno Faraco, Fernando Holanda, Rogerio Cruz,
Paula Caçador, Guilherme Meneses, Fabio Jungstedt
Client: Almeida Kruger
Construction: Hauz
Photos: Fran Parente
The 350sqm office was born from the desire for an office that “doesn’t look like an office”, with personalities and spaces that convey personality and a sense of movement. Gustavo Kruger, the company’s CEO, gave the project its unique touch with his interest in works of art and voyages on the high seas, which inspired the development of the space where works of art take center stage.
The new office meets the demands of its users by dividing itself into three zones – public, semi-public and private – which are connected in a fluid and subtle way. A large gallery opens the public area, with retractable panels that allow for the transformation of the environment and a smooth transition to the semi-public area, which has bathrooms, a pantry, facilities and a large meeting room. Finally, the private area offers individual and collective workspaces, in addition to CEO Gustavo Kruger’s aquarium-like room, which remains visually connected to the entire office and the landscape of São Paulo.
The terraces, planters and large openings that characterize the building were used as starting points to intensify the connection between the interior and exterior. Perkins&Will team applied materials that already characterized the building to the office, such as the terraces’ wooden lining that invade the interiors. Oscar dos Santos Emboaba’s geometry also inspired the production and selection of furniture, such as Virá Shelf and HON Cabin, developed especially for this space; used, respectively, to display sculptures from the client’s personal collection and to provide privacy for video conferences.
The balance between technique and creativity made it possible to build this office in the form of an art gallery. The functionality of such a large space was guaranteed thanks to the innovative use of panels, as shared by Carlos Andrigo, Senior Project Designer at Perkins&Will: “The sliding panels in the public area were very complex to execute, involving carpentry, metalwork, engineering, electrical and lighting work. Another major challenge was the execution of a large steel panel to attract the magnets of the paintings, so that the art exhibition could be easily transformed into different scenarios.”
Amplitude and neutrality characterize the space, with lighting that elevates works of art to the position of protagonists, highlighted by the palette of light tones that give sobriety to the office: “In the art panels and niches, we washed the wall with direct light to highlight the works. It is as if the pieces were transformed into light fixtures, reflecting their colours in the environment”, adds Carlos Andrigo.
