guto requena revives abandoned rooftop in são paulo with interactive installation

guto requena revives abandoned rooftop in são paulo with interactive installation
(above) the installation invites the audience to have a new perspective of the city
all images © pedro kok

local-based practice studio guto requena was commissioned to create an interactive installation and a set design for the 2016 edition of ‘heineken up on the roof’, inviting the audience to have a new perspective of são paulo. to do so they chose a rooftop located on one brazil’s tallest buildings as their location, the ‘mirante do vale’, constructed in 1966 under the authorship of waldomiro zarzur and aron kogan.

video courtesy of guto requena

abandoned for almost three decades, the rooftop was transformed into a large lounge with a covered bar, an outdoor dance floor overlooking the city, and an interactive installation entitled ‘sensitive star’ on the helipad. this star-shaped piece reacts to the stimuli of moving people through a group of sensors and responds by changing its lights and sounds. as a larger-than-life musical instrument, it is set to take the visitor’s body movements, mixing them with a soundscape made from a collection of sounds from the streets, traffic, markets and the monastery of são bento.

‘sensitive star’ reacts to moving people through a group of sensors, responding to changing light sound

a furniture series called ‘mirante’ was specially designed for the event, referencing the building itself and its modernist architecture. the design’s MDF plates express the concrete lines of space and serve as a bar and home furnishings. the collection was published in open source design (copyleft) so that anyone can download the technical files and reproduce them freely.

the project acts as a larger-than-life musical instrument

the interactive installation is located on the helipad of the building

it is set to input visitors’ body movements, mixing them with a soundscape

people enjoying the installation

it is an opportunity to declare love for this brazilian metropolis

an invitation the audience to have a new perspective of the city, observing its daily transformation and its chaos

outdoor dance floor 

the crowd enjoying the different musical guests

bottle panel developed with parametric design

the mirante MDF furniture collection

project info:

project name: heineken up on the roof
set design: guto requena
design team estudio guto requena: daniel vianna, guilherme giantini and bruno baietto

event created by: agency hands
set design supplier: caselúdico

sensitive star – interactive installation by guto requena
architecture development: daniel vianna
software, hardware and audio research: felipe merker castellani and fernando falci de souza

photography: pedro kok
video: filmes para bailar

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom