KAAN Architecten presents the design of São José dos Campos’ Faculty of Medicine
01/07/2017.
and opens São Paulo office [São José dos Campos] Brazil
metalocus, SARA NÁJAR
metalocus, SARA NÁJAR
Description of the project by KAAN Architecten
The Dutch architectural firm expands its growing business by opening its second outpost in São Paulo (Brazil). The practice, founded by architects Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen and Dikkie Scipio in 2014 quintessentially reveals a natural connection with Brazilian modernist architecture and aesthetics, highlighted through the use of raw concrete, clean lines and functional forms.
Since 2015, KAAN Architecten has been working on various projects across Brazilian territory: City Hall Park, a broad urban redevelopment plan in São Bernardo do Campo, the refurbishment of the city hall tower, the Paço Building, and Ferrazópolis, a transit hub featuring housing and a commercial program.
A team of architects, urban planners and engineers led by Renata Gilio works in close collaboration with the Rotterdam office and is based on the ground floor of a Sixties building in the cultural and residential district of Higienópolis, west of São Paulo’s city center. The Brazilian branch is predominantly dedicated to urban planning, renovation projects and educational programs between the States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
To mark the official launch of the new office and the start of construction, KAAN Architecten unveils the design for the new Faculty of Medicine of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi (UAM) in São José dos Campos, a city in the greater metropolitan area of São Paulo State. Located in proximity to a main road junction of the city, the building stands on an elevated plot, which creates both isolation and ideal conditions to turn it into a new landmark in the dense urban fabric.
Optimizing the topographical characteristics of the area, the project stands firm and visually opens itself up to the city. 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 between the concrete slabs and roof beams. These are molded in loco, relying on the expertise of the local workforce, and eliminating the need for masonry.
The Faculty of Medicine in São José dos Campos is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017.
KAAN Architecten is a Rotterdam based architectural firm operating in a global context and merging practical and academic expertise within the fields of architecture, urbanism and research on the built environment. The studio, led by Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen and Dikkie Scipio, consists of an international team of architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers and graphic designers. KAAN Architecten believes in cross-pollination between projects and disciplines as an essential tool to fostering a critical debate within the studio.
Since the launch of the firm, KAAN Architecten has handled and supervised a wide range of projects, actively working with the private and the public sector, with project teams that become increasingly multidisciplinary and dynamic. KAAN Architecten maintains a culture of constant evolution, which is essential in a profession that changes at a rapid pace. KAAN Architecten seeks to uphold long-term relationships with its clients, consultants and partners.
KAAN Architecten’s projects transcend the traditional notion of scale and typology, ranging from furniture and interiors to urban development and from retail and offices to museums and buildings for health and education.
Selection of completed projects:
2017, B30 – Bezuidenhoutseweg 30, The Hague (NL)!
2016, De Bank – new KAAN Architecten’s office, Rotterdam (NL)
2016, Supreme Court of the Netherlands, The Hague (NL)!
2015, Provinciehuis of North-Brabant, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2013, Dreamhouse, Rotterdam (NL)!
2013, Education Center Erasmus MC, Rotterdam (NL)!
2010, District Water Board Brabantse Delta, Breda (NL)
!2008, Crematorium Heimolen, Sint Niklaas (BE)!
2004, Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague
KAAN Architecten ©Casper Rila