ARX

On a historically undeveloped plot, the project completes the urban frontage of Avenida Santos Dumont, seeking to acknowledge and respond to its specific context: the boundary between the city and the railway corridor. This condition calls for an approach at two scales, simultaneously contributing to the urban and architectural enhancement of the site. At the urban scale, this is achieved through the planting and shaping of the rear courtyard, which protects life in the communal garden from railway noise; at the architectural scale, through the careful design of the soffits of the balconies, giving the street a distinctive character.

The internal organisation of the residential programme directs most of the apartments’ communal areas towards the south, allowing the generous, open and fluid spaces characteristic of a contemporary way of living to engage with the city. This approach gives the building a sense of transparency and lightness, protected by a metallic skin of vertical posts, balustrades and screens that provide privacy to the balconies and apartments. On the rear façade, more selective openings protect the private spaces from visual and acoustic pollution, while still allowing residents to enjoy the outdoor spaces overlooking the garden.

At roof level, three private terraces serve the apartments located on the top residential floor. Each terrace includes a swimming pool and garden for the exclusive use of the corresponding apartment. They are accessed directly from within the apartments via staircases leading to small rooftop volumes or lanterns. These structures stand as architectural exceptions to the building’s otherwise rigorous compositional rules, differing not only formally but also in colour.