This state-of-the-art commercial office building for one of Brazil’s leading alternative investment and asset management firms occupies a prominent site in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. The interior consists primarily of open-plan office spaces complemented by a series of private courtyards, while a series of exterior terraces create a direct connection with the urban artery of Bartolomeu Mitre Avenue, seamlessly integrating the project into its site.
A generous lobby anchors the building to the streetscape. The structure rises 7 floors above ground for a total height of 25 meters. The building’s refined formal vocabulary reflects a commitment to sustainability while also delivering efficiency and flexibility. The west façade is recessed from the street front and masked with a carefully composed set of louvers designed to maximize both sun shading and privacy. On the east, the structure has been pulled away from its neighbors to create internal courtyards and provide natural day lighting for all the interior office spaces. These voids house generous vertical gardens that tie back into the striking exposed architectural concrete core that services the building. The project masterfully combines the refined with the raw, with materials ranging from the precise aluminum and glass facade to the rough concrete core and lush courtyard vegetation.
The physical and conceptual heart of the building is the interior vertical garden. Its striking green wall creates a sense of open landscape unusual in an urban infill office building, while also subverting expectations about the typical relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces.
