The precedent we completed was the Huma Klabin by Una Architectos.
Huma Klabin was completed in 2016 in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Due to its location in Southeastern Brazil, and its high elevation, the city of Sao Paulo enjoys a distinctly temperate climate with an abundance of humidity. Additionally, the city of Sao Paulo serves as brazils economic center and lies among the world’s most populous cities.
Huma Klabin was designed in a fashion that actively responds to the given conditions of population and humidity. When simplified the construction of Huma Klabin boils down to four moves: the extrusion of a tower, the duplication of said tower, rotation of each tower, and finally the embedding of the towers within the base plate. The end result is one that maximizes space by providing cozy yet comfortable living spaces while giving occupants unique views and ample fresh air in order to mitigate the humidity and other city living conditions.
The base plate that the towers sit on top of also plays an important role of offering an escape from the city within the city. In juxtaposition to the highly privatized spaces within the towers, the base plate is compromised of all of the facilities communal spaces.
The Huma Klabin is compromised of 11 identical floors for housing, 2 floors below ground for parking, and open rooftop floor.
As a result of the program of the building, the floor plan is made up of almost identical units just rotated, with the exception of one being expanded to accommodate two beds.
The most basic unit consists of a bed, kitchen, bathroom, and sitting area, with about one-third of the space being dedicated to the balcony in order to frame views and increase ventilation.
The two-bed unit follows the same shared space logic for the most part, but separates the beds in an attempt to increase privacy.
In another attempt to provide occupants with privacy, the building employs a shading system to limit onlookers and sun when needed.
Due to the rotation of the towers, the units all face a different cardinal direction, providing occupants with unique viewing experiences.
The main circulation system is a set of stairs that connects to an open-air landing on each floor.
In order to continue and build upon the main themes of framing views and adding open air areas, we decided to transform Huma Klabin by dividing the building by the floor plates, inserting a helical set of stairs with an elevator going through the middle of them and rotating each floor among that axis. By doing so, not only are the views expanded, but usable open air space is added throughout the project by using the roof below as a terrace.
As you can see there’s a significant change in the language of the site plan compared to the original.
Not only does the whole site plan shift in response to the transformation, but the section also undergoes a radical change. The box form of the building is lost and pockets of air in between floors are added.
Because of our decision to have the staircase directly in the center, the original layout of the rooms was reformatted to respond to the main axis. Because of the rotation, the terraces are different sizes as well.
The outdoor space is really maximized in response to the transformation. Not only is there the original balcony in every room, but most of the rooms now have a terrace, allowing for the utilization of true outdoor space.
These are some of the alternate units.
To maintain the privacy that the original building guaranteed, the same shading system was implemented in the transformation. The terraces are shown here as gardens, but they can be used any way the occupants please.
The building had many unique views to begin with, but now the 30 degree rotation and implementation of terraces allow for even more unique views in every direction.
The original design consisted of a central hallway between the rooms with the staircase on one side. Now, the elevator and stairs are implemented in the center of the building to make the experience equal for all occupants.