PLACE

São Paulo

PROJECT YEAR

2011 | 2012

CONSTRUCTION YEAR

2018

LAND AREA

7.900 m²

BUILDING AREA

26.000 m²

Senac’s largest unit in São Paulo state was designed to be a building that can be adapted to its needs as fast as their training courses can adapt to the rapid changes in the labor market. On the other hand, it is to become cultural equipment to the most populous neighborhood of São Paulo city, an area that suffers from the lack of this type of space and has low socioeconomic development.

To meet these demands, the office created a flexible building, easy to maintain, and with great mobility thanks to the work carried out with the pedagogical team, aligning the architecture with Senac’s educational project. Based on this alignment of intentions, the project envisaged a series of specific laboratories and conventional classrooms. The integration made by corridors and lounges, which adapt and assume many functions, stimulate the pedagogical and educational character by promoting encounters and exchanges.

The transparency of the three blocks not only brings natural light to the interior but is also an invitation to come in for people outside. The invitation is also made by the open ground floor of the main building, located on an important avenue in the neighborhood. Likewise, the library is open to the general public, and a public square connects the three buildings.

To help to organize teaching activities with playful aesthetics, the office worked intensively with colors. The palette appears both on the giant mobile, hanging from a 25-meter tall wall in the main building, creating a myriad of colors and volumes, as well as in the painting of areas intended to host different training programs. This grouping makes employees’ work easier and students can move from one room to the other easily, contributing to the flexibility and adaptation of spaces.

By offering a major sensorial experience, mixing lights, colors, volumes, and spaces for interaction, the buildings contribute to efficient learning, connected to current needs. Besides, it invites the local community to use the space, people eager for opportunities for personal development and access to culture.

CityScape Awards 2018 • Category: Community, Culture and Tourism Project • Finalist Project

Photos: Ana Mello and Pedro Mascaro