Palimpsest - Schindler Global Award - Booklet

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Palimpsest Definition of PALIMPSEST 1- writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased 2- something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface We must understand the disciplines of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urbanism all echo a single core set of values, and our way of understanding each is as just as complementary to each other as to make a whole, composed of different shards of a single unique beautiful diamond. It gives us a sense of dancing between scales, changing from the very big to the very small, understanding it all as part of a bigger whole, in which, at each scale, it will respond differently with a specific toolset to each scale of the scenario.

can learn from the other to form a more balanced future, with less barriers and more hope for equality. Within diversity we hope to find our biggest strength, by creating the opportunity to mingle, to meet, to co-exist. From bohemian to secluded, from creative to traditional.

Hence, our land usage map also marks the targeted income range of owners or tenants. Likewise, we approach a split social rental and ownership patterns for the apartment blocks, not fully tossing all the eggs into one basket, understanding there is the But to build the urban structure in which we all live, we must enable ourselves not need for a mixed set of solutions to approach the problems of living and providing to think in a single scale, but to flow seamlessly from the building to the city to the habitation to the most sensitive part of our society in a complex social structure as the metropolitan area to the created landscape, which is all we apprehend at the glance of Brazilian one, which can hopefully be of use in other scenarios. the eye, in the scales presented to us.Never a solo player, we, architects, are trained to orchestrate layers of specialized knowledge into a weave of joined efforts into solving So, we hope for a mixed, uniform, homogenized city, not as in all looking the same, but problems on several scales. It is our capacity to move between scales and disciplines all looking diverse, as in a diverse architecture as well as in a diverse population and of knowledge and bring the best out of each one, that leads to the immense synergetic diverse as possible usage, save for neighborhood unfriendly usages such as heavy incapacity our profession has to offer to the future, and for that, we must understand the dustries, but in a new economy, how do we draw the line between a computer design transformative role the architect has for the future of mankind and this work hopes to enabled Fab-Lab, within a Co-Working environment, from a furniture shop? The future might lie in the capacity for a local, mass customization of goods, which can then be showcase the potency of that idea. sourced and shipped the world over in an integrated, borderless, truly fair, socially We defend not only mixed usage on the traditional terms of mixing commerce and aware, global market? habitation and services, but also, on the sense of several degrees of income and social layering in one place. If the poor and the rich can live in the same cityscape, for the Therefore, project area is, no less, a small city, a Palimpsest waiting to happen. Our poorest, the marks of living in a bad patch of the city cannot be attributed to them, strugle was to create in this area a city in which we truly believe. prejudice is reduced. If playing in the streets, rich and poor can raise side by side, one Registration number: 1644-829-3470

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Context

Brazilian Instritute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, BCE250 data set

The intervention site is located to the natural right margin of the Pinheiros River, about six hundred meters away from it’s mouth in the Tietê River. This is one of the lowest points in the municipality of São Paulo, at 720 meters high from sea level.

The Pinheiros River’s mouth is also the border between São Paulo and the next municipality, Osasco, to the west. The City of Osasco was once a part of the municipality of São Paulo and later became autonomous. In practice, both are in conurbation into a single city, alongside with the other 37 municipalities in the

São Paulo Metro: Origin-Destination Survey, 2007

Brazilian Instritute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, BCE250 data set

Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, which combined have an area of 7,9 million square kilometers and a population of 21 million inhabitants.

The intervention area is adjacent to the Pinheiros River Marginal Expressway and the Jurubatuba branch of the Sorocabana Railway, wich currently serves exclusively to commuter trains in the 9-Emerald line of the CPTM (Metropolitan Trains Company of São Paulo), which connects the southernmost part of the city to the Osasco City center, and is laid mostly alongside the Pinheiros River Margin.

São Paulo Metro: Origin-Destination Survey, 2007

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São Paulo City Digital Map, 2007, updated to 2016 info

To the local level, the area is adjacent to the transforming neighborhood of Vila Leopoldina, to the east, which is undergoing change from industrial use to residential, with high blocks of condos being built in the last years. To the west, across the river, there is the Jaguaré neighborhood, which has two distinct parts, one steep and mostly residential and another plain and mostly industrial. To the south, the area is adjacent to the Villa Lobos park and the Alto de Pinheiros residential neighborhood. All of the surrounding areas, except for Vila Leopoldina, are very poorly connected to the Ceasa area.

São Paulo City Digital Map, 2007, updated to 2016 info

São Paulo City Digital Map, 2007, updated to 2016 info

Inside the intervention area, there is a number of different combinations. There are high luxury closed residential developments and two known favelas, also some social housing blocks.

Nonetheless, the main activity is still industry and warehouses, as the main center of distribution of food supplies, the Ceagesp, is located in the area. There is also a decaying cement processing plant from Votorantim. Together, they hold most of the land that is going to be transformed in our proposal.

São Paulo City Digital Map, 2007, updated to 2016 info

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Proposal 1. Connectivity We understand that the key to a living neighborhood lies, also in transportation and mobility. Since our first meeting to discuss the area, we diagnosed the need to connect the project area with different parts of the metropole and the opposite shore of the Pinheiros River through a bridge that directs the user to a tramway line that will serve the JaguarĂŠ neighborhood as well. We see, as well, the importance of ensuring confortable sidewalks for pedestrians and bicycles and, foreseeing the idea of car-sharing we also have considered providing eletric cars for this use under the Pavillion.

2. Co-Generaiton and Green infra structure Usage of turbines on rooftops, photovoltaic and composting to co-generate energy to feed the excess into the grid, making generation less centralized on huge infrastructure endeavours. Complementary to that is the usage of green roofs, green building sides, rain gardens and gutters, to slow down the flow of water into the territory on climate events, aiding the traditional infrastructure to deal with the excess water, and also, allow some water to enter soil, dealing with diffuse pollution and enabling vegetation to incorporate water and return it through its own metabolism into the atmosphere, adding to the water cycle.

3. Riverfront and the Raised Floorbed Pinheiros River today presents itself as open sewage to the city. We see there is potential for more, and our approach was one of opportunity of exploring that. Use the fact the railway provided a latent connection needed by the city to shift it, and lower it just above the river water level, to avoid costly interventions. And use our long span of land to slowly raise the street level until we can safely pass over the rail and street system, and just walk into the park. The new terrain allows wheelchair-friendly access to the park, with most of the territory falling within 1% declivity ratings. Finally, the last road to be crossed, turns the local lane into a true avenue-like connection, having pedestrian-friendly traffic calmers and stop lights.

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4. Community Sense The Pavillion is central to our approach, as it forms a long axis that links the Gastão Vidigal Avenue with the new proposed CPTM station, and the Marginal Pinheiros route, redirected, separating the local and express lanes to create a sense of a citywide main road. The flexible nature of the Pavillion allows a “flexible movable community” with equipament on wheels, which can be shifted in and out of the pavilion spacializing several acitivities, from local festivities to the World Cup matches broadcasts, so crowds of people can gather to watch it side by side, seeing, understanding, contacting and living with the other so that we can see we are all the same, and together, despite our differences, we may strive for the best.

5. Flexible Living/Work/Rental spaces In our new take, common transition areas in the flexible living areas can be turned into office spaces or “Air BnB”-like rental areas for travelers, with a separate entrance to the main, private, entrance to the house. Co-Working areas may incorporate recording studios or flexible photography/film-making studios as rental areas, which can be re-purposed as meeting areas. Software development, game development and the needed infrastructure may allow the potency of local media centers and silicon-valley-like city areas within the project, with each co-working office station catering to a specialized set of skills and needs.

6. Co-Working: Pay by Use and Grown as Needed spaces allow for new entrepreneurs to create in a new environment, without the burdens of a fixed office structure, being able to freelance, join forces, create teamwork, or simply disband effortlessly to respond to an ever shifting business environment which requires talent and capacity without the burders of property.

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Masterplan

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Final Insertion

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Connectivity In our proposal, we consider the current plans of the Metropolitan Rail Company (CPTM) to deviate Line 9 (Emerald) to the city center, and link Osasco Station to the Pinheiros Hub via an express line. Also, we change the position of the Ceasa Station and propose a new one, Mofarrej, to the north.

In addition, we propose a tramway service on already existing, unsued, tracks in the Jaguaré neighborhood, connecting Presidente Altino Station, in Osasco, to the Butantã neighborhood, via the University of São Paulo campus.

In both Ceasa and Mofarrej stations, we propose a transposition. In the first one, a bridge connecting the Ceasa area to the Jaguaré Hill, also giving access to the riverfront park and connecting to a station in the proposed tramway line.

In the second one, we propose a transposition between the two sides of the tracks via a free span under the platforms, connecting the Ceasa area to the Convention Center to the north.

New Ceasa Station and the Connection to Jaguaré Hill

Mofarrej Station Registration number: 1644-829-3470

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There are, in the proposal, cycle paths connecting the area to the Pinheiros River cycle path, and also in both transpositions (Ceasa and Mofarrej stations). Also, there are cycle lanes in key streets, giving accesss to most of the points of interest.

Through the Pinheiros River cycle path it is possible to reach the University of SĂŁo Paulo campus, as well as the areas of Faria Lima and Berrini Aves., which hosts many work stations.

We proposed, by default, a widht of 18m to all streets, including 8 meters of sidewalk and 10m of car, park and cycle lanes. This enrures proper safety space for both pedestrians and cyclists. In the main streets, there would be exclusive bus lanes, and in the local streets, there would be traffic calming street design.

To help in dealing with rainwater, we propose raingardens to be built, at every oportunity, along with other vegetation.

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Types Of Land Use DENSITY One of the key aspects of our approach on understanding the urban landscape, is finding a way to tie together multiple land uses side by side, to create a dense, harmonious, and diverse urban landscape. In particular, how to create social diversity without enforcing the gentrification of the renewed area.

ON DIVERSITY OF LIFE AND USE We do believe following in the footsteps of some successful examples of providing low income social side by side with regular housing market products may lead to richness in non-anticipated social interactions, as well as avoiding the trap of ghettos and high value areas. Density helps reduce the shared cost of fixed urban infrastructure, but density can also be a trap. Diversity not only of social classes but of activities happening. As such, we point to the integration not only of commerce to habitation, but also of schools, libraries, aid centers and office spaces, so that we may strike a balance of day use and night use within a neighborhood, avoiding the trap of portions of the city which empty themselves by morning, from the event of its inhabitants leaving for work and classes; and another dying on a much complementary pattern.

ON NEW MODELS OF WORKING AND use by public buildings such as schools and other public service providers, but LIVING that often tends to group public function Likewise, the advent of Co-Working, al- and tie its reach to a rather concentrated lowing for more flexible office structure area in the neighborhoods. Our reasoning being used by new companies, as well as is, if by accepting density, we are worknew habitations standards which under- ing with the concept of built land, upon stand the workplace may be completely a capacity or potential to build in an or partially incorporated into the home area, then the area destined for the use ( as in the past, it was usual to have a by public services and for public ownerroom in the house have an independent ship could be taken in as sprayed over the opening to the streets, so that clients project, the logic being to create a spread could walk in unburdened by the private of micro-centralities over the territory, affairs of the household, and the house- and a bigger reach of the public services. hold could be spared from mingling with A well-organized city should be able to business life on such a direct degree ). If negotiate its needs in terms of land for the inside space can be repetitioned as equipment and services needed to be needed over time with modular struc- provided to have an active part of ignittures, why does the entrance points to a ing the new neighborhoods. corridor need to stay the same, fixed, if technology can now provide for catering ON NON-LAND USE that need? The same sort of space may conform to being converted for part- Another important part of the health time rental on online office or bed and of the street, remarkably so on the debreakfast rental, without having to open veloping world, is the role of the street the whole of your house, but instead, a in commerce, not in the sense of storecontrolled portion. How we live has been fronts creating an active façade which ever changing through the whole history can make the best use of Jacob’s “Eyes on the Street” approach to understandof mankind, and providing ing why some streets and cities do better ON BUILT LAND than others. Street vendors, from hot dog stands and book stands, to the big food Government requirements often state trucks, can and should also play a vital public land must be declared so, for the role in a project, and our park squares

and the big pavilion all take into account a friendly approach to street vendors.

GENTLE DESIGN Our approach for designing the project took stand on a gentler way of perceiving urban interactions. Most of the new area should be a slow speed, local street, pedestrian friendly group of neighborhoods.

As such, the streets were designed with traffic calming in mind, the number of garage spaces on the new buildings is lower than usual for a city such as São Paulo, understanding the Car Sharing and Bike Sharing stations may play a role complementary to the well provided public transportation system implemented. But through diverse use, density and a pedestrianized design, integrating work and living, our hope is to create the opportunity for a life which can mostly be solved in the local realm.

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Heritage and Reuse

Silo

When facing such a challenge as a place of such meaning to the SĂŁo Paulo history, as well as so many layers of history within and around it, we saw the necessity of preserving the places that are marks of time, anchors of memory, and not simply undergo an operation of erasure, but rather, reinforcing local memories for those already in the area, as well as those coming in anew.

As such, we chose selected historical sites, relevant by their distinct architecture, by their potential for evocating memories, and for their capacity to welcome new significations into a new future and remain architecturally relevant. Some, as the main Pavillion, with its columnated preponderance left little room for doubt, requiring to be treated with due decorum. Such was the case of the storage silos, repurposed into the heart of a cultural center, near a re-activated historical rail line, evoking the past and present of the place for the last trip, and burial ground, of a brave historical train.

-Here, within a mixed convention center/hotel/culture center, split in quadrants so activities can be structured in complementary ways to each other, keeping it alive and used as much as possible in weekdays and weekends, the silos on their original floor level on the original terrain, meet the new structures as their rise towards the park, allowing visitors unprecedented access to an industrial structure on raised ground, reaching it almost within touching distance, allowing for understanding it in ways never foreseen by anyone on the ground.

Others, as the trading warehouses, were reintegrated into the new urban landscape, serving as the street fronts of new housing and office spaces, sometimes supermarket, sometimes bohemian group of bars and restaurants, sometimes co-working space with coffee and book stores, where it’s raised floors for truck unloading met the new raised levels of the surrounding areas, in our effort to make the pedestrian rise above the old Marginal Pinheiros and a new Riverfront park. There, old and new face each other in a dance of history, the new timber frame structures giving new breath and meaning, turning old streets into new indoor spaces.

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Pavillion

Warehouses

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Conclusions

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50m

Permeating the main questions that lead to the final result, there was a strugle to truly understand the Project area, while respecting it´s history and it´s scars. Yet, our essay lies in proposing what we believe that is the best for a city, what we believe that can really change society and one´s regard towards the whole and mostly, what can make life happen in the city. We see the necessity of spatialize certain uses as today´s economy and political situation point to a very very difficult future if we keep the same pace. That´s why, since our first gathering, words like “co-working”, “co-generating”, “sharing”, “living flexibility” popped out of our mouths and pencils almost spontaneously. This understanding of the other, acquired by living differently, is key in a search for a society without conflicts,

fears and violence.

Our solution starts on the Metropolitan level, from the connections on a large scale and the role the CEASA area can play on a larger sense as reintegrating a needed train link, so enabling a latent connection to being achieved, but also, how our project understands its insertion into the shift of the city of São Paulo from its origins as a coffee hub, to an industrial powerhouse within Brazil, to its transformation into a major, diverse, rich metropolitan area, and now, moving towards a new economy, and the continuing role this key hub of a city within a city can play in the gestation of a positive future. In that sense, our approach comes down from powers of 10, from its metropolitan relevance, to its municipal releRegistration number: 1644-829-3470

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South - North section cut, facing West

West - East section cut, facing North

vance and connection with its nearest connection spots, creating when possible, and even dreaming of perfect connections (even when it would be immediately unclear, we trust the effects of our proposal could overflow from its borders, taking on neighboring areas and also positively influencing their development ), as the most dear to us, and the key to a successful neighborhood, the local scale, maybe the closest to our home, where life happens in a 1:1 scale.

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