bloco arquitetos designs clubhouse in volta redonda, rio de janeiro

despite being situated a mere 15 minutes from the city center, the new ‘alphaville residential condominium’ in volta redonda, rio de janeiro state in brazil by BLOCO arquitetos is encountered among mountains practically free of building interferences. the urbanization project reserved the least rugged portions for the residential lots and for the collective, leisure area for dwellers, provided a more sloped area, with a total pitch of more than 15 m, at the edge of the field. with the intention of keeping the view as open as possible, the architecture team chose to make a transparent construction: a long, linear block with predominantly glass curtain walls. the idea was keeping the view from the houses towards the valley as clear and unblocked as possible.

the pavilion, visually light and mostly transparent, has its main structure built in steel

the building by BLOCO arquitetos is divided into two main elements: the pavilion and the podium. the pavilion, visually light and mostly transparent, has its main structure built in steel. all the areas that needed opaque walls were positioned on both ends of the main body, allowing for transparency in all its central spaces. the podium is built in concrete, visually heavy and clad in cement slabs. it is leveled to the street on one side and outcrops as a set of volumes on the lower part of the lot. the podium articulates the main elements of the program: the indoor spaces, the swimming pools and the ramp and stairs that connect them. it forms plateaus in two different levels, allowing for the pavilion to sit on its upper level and the swimming pools two meters below.

video cortesy of BLOCO arquitetos

most of the indoor space has a ceiling height of 250cm, which allows for the structure eaves to protect it from the sun. the main events room in the central part of the pavilion is marked by a different ceiling height of 480cm. this directed the creation of the pergola around it to project shadow and protect the high windows from the sun. whereas this pergola has a very defined function the ones on the projecting ‘edges’ of the building have the role of extending the visual effect of its horizontality. the ceilings, made with natural cumaru wood from a certified and sustainable origin, is the material that aims for the connection between the industrial character of the main structure and the domestic atmosphere of the houses that will be built around it. the main steel structure is exposed and painted in black, as well as the steel tubes that collect the rainwater.

the ceilings are made of natural cumaru wood from a certified and sustainable origin

the podium articulates the main elements of the program 

all the areas that needed opaque walls were positioned at both ends of the main body 

the building is divided into two main elements: the pavilion and the podium 

the podium is built in concrete, visually heavy and clad in cement slabs

the urbanization project reserved the least rugged portions for the residential lots

leisure areas for dwellers, provided a more sloped area, with a total pitch of more than 15 m, at the edge of the field 

with the intention of keeping the view as open as possible, the design team chose to make a transparent construction 

the idea was keeping the view from the houses towards the valley as clear and unblocked as possible

encountered among mountains practically free of building interferences

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