kruchin arquitetura immerses guests in a blue spherical planetarium in sao paulo

brazilian firm kruchin arquitetura recently completed a digital planetarium theater as part of a mixed-use complex that includes a commercial building, a research center and a restored mansion. located in sao paulo, brazil, the new theater is intended for scientific and educational lectures and presentations, and immerses viewers in a 360 degrees projection of the spatial images inside its teal sphere.

for inspiration, the designers read countless essays regarding how to symbolically translate the experience of observing the universe. ‘we seek their shapes in kepler with their associated cubes and spheres, in einstein, in his curved but unsuccessful universe. on an unpretentious stroll along the beach I picked up a shell and immediately formed the image of the pearls, in their brightness, the image of the transformation of the grain seed into geometry. the birth of pearls and the nursery of stars were from the same source, from the same origin: the shell, the casing that will tell the creation of the world’, details samuel kruchin, founder of the firm.

the building is defined by three layers of overlapping roofs, all enclosing a spherical volume. the outermost layer, made of corrugated concrete acts as a membrane, covering the sphere only partially, as if eclipsing the space. the outer membrane is supported only laterally, and rests on the square’s structure. its surface features a protective layer for waterproofing without affecting the design of its texture.

between the layers, kruchin arquitetura inserted naturally painted, translucent elements that add a visual filter to the interiors that resembles outer space. the panels’ main function is the overall protection of the building assemblage, in terms of keeping it enclosed and controlling its thermal environment, as the equipment inside is extremely sensitive.

between both layers lies an accessible void through which the infrastructure for the facilities and their conservation are located. the access to its interior is through the walkway that connects all the buildings of the ensemble as well as the low square that connects the theater with the institute of theoretical physics. the teal sphere that imitates a planet with its eclipsing membrane, will serve as a landmark for sao paulo and a symbolic building for space research and exploration.