At the end of 2011, my brother and sister-in-law commissioned my office to design a studio where he could house his psychoanalysis office and she her graphic design office, with the possibility of converting the building into a residence for the couple.
Studio Name: Pessoa Arquitetos + Base Urbana
Design Team: Jorge Pessoa, Catherine Otondo, Mariana Grinover, Lívia Marques, Rebeca Grinspum, Matheus Tonelli, Florência Testa, Julie Trickt, Juliana Barsi, Fernando Franco, Cadu Marino, Bhakta Krpa, Patricia Sato, Paula Saad e Tiago Testa
Area: 280,00 m2
Year: 2011 – 2013
Location: São Paulo, Brasil
Photography Credits: Pedro Vannucchi
The starting point of the project was to think of a building that could adapt to the requirements of different programs, with universal and flexible spaces, capable of housing different types of use. If today it houses a consulting room and an office and tomorrow it will house a residence, it could still house a commercial store or an educational establishment, for example.
Due to a large jabuticabeira on the land, the building was divided into two blocks. On the ground floor of the front block is the parking for vehicles and a covered leisure area. The first floor of this block houses the graphic design office, with two bathrooms, a pantry and a multipurpose room with balconies at the ends. The psychoanalysis office program is located in the back block, with a room for groups, a pantry and a bathroom on the ground floor. The upper floor houses the room for individual care, office, pantry and bathroom. The distribution of the blocks was planned in order to provide privacy for the two use programs, and to allow the integration of the two wings through the inner courtyard.
Through the fundamental concepts of modern architecture, such as economy of elements, rigor and precision, we strive to execute a rational project, with a regular structure that is completely apparent in the architecture, defining its shape and appearance. The choice of materials and industrial technologies, such as metallic structure and roofing, prefabricated slabs, aluminum frames and cement slabs were fundamental for achieving a quick work with controlled costs.
As a counterpoint to industrialized construction elements, we use wooden flooring throughout the space, seeking to reconcile the versatility necessary for the anticipated changes in use with the intimate and cozy ambiance desired by customers. Large windows facing an internal garden, which provide abundant natural lighting and ventilation, help to integrate the two blocks with the building’s exterior and create a welcoming atmosphere, regardless of the building’s use.
Jorge Pessoa
Jorge Pessoa is an architect and urban planner graduated from Universidade Mackenzie (1992), a specialist in Real Estate Business from Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado – FAAP/SECOVI (2000) and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo – FAUUSP (2008). He has experience in the field of Architectural Design, Urban Design and Urban and Regional Planning. In 2014, he won the APCA Award in the Architecture / Urbanity category for the Favela do Sapé Reurbanization project. Before founding Pessoa Arquitetos, he was a founding partner of BASE 3 Arquitetos, from 2007 until its dissolution in 2014. He is a professor at the Panamerican School of Art and Design.
