Zaha Hadid looks likely to be spending a good portion of her summer on Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana Beach this summer, but she is unlikely to be relaxing on the sand with a cocktail in hand. The British-Iraqi architect has teamed up with Arup and Mello Afonso Engineering to commence work on her firm’s first project in South America, and the high-end residential building is set to break ground this spring.
Rendering © Methanoia
The 12-story Casa Atlântica is characterized by a distinctive, spine-like front façade with sculpted fins incorporating generous covered balconies for each unit. Initially designed as a hotel but later changed to a luxury apartment building in order to comply with regional standards, the condominium’s gleaming white terraces will offer residents uninterrupted views down Rio’s famous coastline.
Rendering © Methanoia
Rendering © Methanoia
“Casa Atlântica’s design continues the liberating formal composition and spatial flow inherent within Brazil’s rich modernist tradition,” explains Hadid. “[It] engages with the unique tempo and vitality of Copacabana’s urban beach culture as well as the fluidity of its renowned Burle Marx promenade.”
Rendering © Methanoia
Hadid’s first venture in Brazil expands her activity further still on this side of the Atlantic. The architect will see her luxury condominium at 520 West 28th Street in Manhattan completed later this year, and her firm also revealed renderings and a slick fly-through for a large residential development entitled Esfera City Center in Monterrey, Mexico.
Rendering © Methanoia
Explore more of ZHA’s projects, both complete and in development, on the firm’s extensive firm profile on Architizer.