Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados: Edifício Platina 220, São Paulo

The mixed-use project, designed by the São Paulo office of Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados, sought to attract more companies to the east side of São Paulo and, as a result, reduce commuting by residents of this region to other parts of the capital. To meet the demand, there are corporate slabs (250 to 500 square meters) in the upper part and commercial suites, with rooms between 26 and 49 square meters, in the middle part of the building. There are also 18 stores on the first floor (forming an active façade), 190 hotel suites and 80 residential units in the lower third and two floors for leisure and a helipad.

This distribution of the program of needs resulted in a 49-storey, 172-meter-high tower, which will be the tallest building in the city of São Paulo when it opens in 2021. The architects took advantage of the 2014 São Paulo Master Plan to achieve the proposal's full construction potential (there are more than 57,000 square meters of built area). The development is part of Eixo Platina, Porte Engenharia e Urbanismo's urbanization project in the region, in partnership with the São Paulo office.

It took eight years, between design and construction, for Platina 220 to be completed. While still at the design stage, it was awarded the AQUA-HQE international sustainability seal by the Vanzolini Foundation. Its striking volumetry is the result of a variety of architectural solutions, including the use of a ventilated façade with Portobello porcelain tiles (60 x 120 cm), which provided thermal comfort inside and durability outside.

The ventilated façade system does not touch the internal walls, creating a layer that provides greater energy savings by reducing the use of air conditioning and the need for artificial lighting, as well as more possibilities for openings.

The floor-to-slab heights are higher from the 25th floor onwards, as the corporate rooms needed to have higher ceilings. Thus, the modulation of the porcelain tiles, together with the sizing of the windows, was effective in "hiding" this difference in the envelope. The ceramic tile was also essential in softening the sun's reflection on the surroundings, which would not have occurred in the case of a glass specification.

The central prismatic volume is mostly occupied by companies and stands out for its light tones, as well as the dynamic composition of terraces and windows along its length, which produces an interesting effect of light and shadows and "breaks up" the regularity of the monolith. 22,380 square meters of Superquadra Cru were used, a product developed by Portobello based on the idea of the versatility of concrete, a recurring material in modern and contemporary architecture.

The concept behind Brasilia and its superblocks, of not limiting spaces, creating continuous surfaces with permeability of movement, was the great inspiration. The result was large concrete slabs molded on metal formwork, forming a surface with moving tones and small dots randomly imprinted by the iron of the formwork.

Preserving the verticality of the project, as if they were supports, the three side blocks are lower and darker, featuring products from Portobello's Superquadra, Ms Barcelona and Steel lines. They surround the faces of the residential (5,526.95 square meters), commercial (5,322.46 square meters) and hotel (6,896.32 square meters) volumes, respectively.

With a steel and glass structure, the stores have been positioned at the ends of the 6,400 square meter plot, on the ground level, allowing visual and spatial permeability through their transparent faces and wide perimeter sidewalks. On its roof, an open and private space serves as a leisure area for the building's users. The independent accesses to each use of the tower face the main thoroughfare, Bom Sucesso Street. The architects implemented a strategy that allowed the circulations of each group of floors not to intersect, with independence for each use.

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1. Located in Tatuapé, a neighborhood on the east side of the city, Platina 220 is the tallest building in São Paulo, with a height of 172 meters and 49 floors.

2. Its striking volumetry features a ventilated façade system made up of Portobello porcelain tiles, which, among other advantages, allowed for the creation of a dynamic set of openings

3. Portobello's products, applied in different colors, also made it possible to differentiate between the tower's different volumes

4. Superblock line

5. Superblock line

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