Architectural Design Competition | Paineiras Hotel Complex Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Estúdio América

To develop a complex project inside one of the greatest urban forests in the world, the Tijuca Forest, may seem contradictory at first. A territory which is seen as one of the lungs of Rio de Janeiro should, at first sight, be untouchable. The great movement of people who, in a daily basis, have one of the “seven wonders” of modern world as their destiny, the Redeemer Christ, changes that original point of view. The question that urges is how to accommodate such an incompatibility? A response to that question appears as a positive opportunity. Besides finding a solution to a complicated tangle of distinct flows and ways of transportation, it is a chance to inform and bring awareness to the 6000 daily tourists of the forests’ richness and the importance of its’ preservation........more

Architectural Design Competition | New Castro Alves Theatre Salvador | Brazil | Estúdio América

A theatre is part of those initiatives that play an essential role in a people’s cultural life. With its public character, by definition, sites where performances take place have in fact a significant function in the structuring of cities and territories which they irrigate culturally.

The NTCA will become a place where Bahia’s art history and cultural production will be exposed. There will be flows of people through galleries that will function as a didactic space by exposing the production and development made to the building. By creating a link with art, the NTCA will replicate its actions to other places, becoming a cultural diffuser promoting endless activities: a synergy camp, open to different art expressions, containing areas dedicated to performances and production; it will be multifunctional and well equipped......more