Universidade Anhembi Morumbi | Campus Piracicaba / KAAN Architecten + URBsp Arquitetura

Architect: KAAN Architecten, URBsp Arquitetura
Location: Av. Rio das Pedras, 1600 – Piracicamirim, Piracicaba – SP, Brazil
Authors: Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen, Dikkie Scipio, Renata Gilio
Team: Marco (Peixe) D’Elia, Mariana Mariano, Paolo Faleschini, Ricardo Marmorato, Laís Oliveira Xavier, Cristina Gonzalo Cuairán
Area: 9300.0 m2
Project Year: 2018
Photographs: Fran Parente

Client: V2 Investimentos
Tenant (Bts Process: Laureate International Universities, Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
Main Contractor: Sobrosa Construtora, São Paulo
Hydraulic Engineering: GRS, Piracicaba
Electrical And Lighting Engineering: Scavone, Piracicaba
Structural Engineering And Precast Concrete Manufacturer: Protendit, São José do Rio Preto
Real Estate Advisory: BRC Group, São Paulo
Collaborators: UrbSP Arquitetura e Urbanismo, São Paulo

Text description provided by the architects. In 2016 KAAN Architecten we were invited to develop two new buildings, which will house the new campuses of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in São José dos Campos and Piracicaba, in the inland of São Paulo State. The projects were coordinated by BRC Group

The sibling buildings are born incorporating concepts of sustainability and flexibility from an architecture of strong presence and at the same time permeable, representing the character of the institution. The adaptability of the design ensured that each building perfectly suited the particularities of the climate and surroundings of its different places of implantation, without losing the aesthetic unity that marks this new phase in the expansion of the Anhembi Morumbi University teaching units.

Both buildings have been driven by the same design choices: to create an elegant yet strong architectural identity for the campuses of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi through a non-scale approach to the representative façades, providing the students and the institution with a generous central common space that promotes social interaction and responds to the hot Brazilian climate of these regions by allowing greater circulation of natural air.

The new building in Piracicaba occupies a plot along a secondary urban expansion axis in the southern part of the city. By optimizing the topographical characteristics of their areas and thanks to the balanced façade geometries, the project is landmarks that firmly and visually open themselves to the city, giving the University a recognizable position within the architectural panorama, horizontally developed and lies on the slope of the surrounding landscape, directly dialoguing with it.

The intense Brazilian solar radiation is mitigated by a fully encompassing system of vertical slabs that fulfills the need for shade in every façade. Choosing a regular structural system enabled KAAN Architecten to feature glass in between the thin concrete slabs and the roof beams. The structure it was prefabricated to enhance sharpness and exactitude in the attachment system.

The wide use of glass in the façades enhances transparency and reveals a deep connection with the architecture of the cities. Moreover, a caramel resin floor comfortably reflects the abundant natural light in the social core and passageways of the buildings. The natural ventilation and light are optimized via a ceiling pergola in concrete and smaller wooden elements acting as sun blades.

The shared program features classrooms, diverse laboratories for practice exercises and simulation, a space for the cafeteria, physiotherapy facilities, a library and offices. All educational spaces are situated alongside the longitudinal glazed façades to take advantage of the natural light and have been oriented towards the large-scale central void, to embody the buildings’ core social identity and its essence as a place for encounters, human connection and knowledge exchange.

Following a careful analysis of the structural opportunities, a system of ribbed slabs made possible by in-situ molded concrete was adopted in the São José dos Campos building. In Piracicaba instead a system of alveolar slabs was employed, exploring the best possibilities of precast concrete. These choices allow wide free spans and a significant modularity of space based on a rigid 1.50 x 1.50 meter grid. Moreover, the in-depth study into solar radiation results in large floor-to-ceiling windows, which grant abundant daylight to classrooms and laboratories, playing with the deep shadows generated by the vertical concrete elements.