In a noble neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian architect Gisele Taranto had the challenge to develop the concept and design the façades and common areas of a building that, with its aesthetics, intends to guarantee spatial comfort and visual permeability to all apartments by having floor-to-ceiling doors. The irregular arrangement of the balconies – a consequence of the various layouts of the apartments – gives a dynamic sight to the passer-by. Since there are no external walls, a mix of transparent and opaque glass skin was created on top of an irregular steel grid. This game of transparency made possible to keep private areas protected from external view. The rail was designed to have transparent glass and open steel grid in order to contribute to a better ventilation of the building. All brickwork details were coated with Alucobond, an aluminum composite resistant to weather changes, impact and oscillation.
The sustainable approach is equally evident as a premise of this project. The use of green walls in the leisure area, the pluvial water capturing system, the use of glasses with high thermal coefficient /shading in the façades, the acquisition of a VRF conditioning system – that is highly efficient and has low consumption -, as well as the use of a central automatic water heating system, which lowers the gas consumption.
As for the common area project, the same approach was taken. The use of striped wooden panels that guide you from the reception all the way inside the leisure area, as well as the continuity of the rough travertine marble flooring throughout the different areas, confer permeability to the flow of residents and visitants. The reception area received pieces of art.