lina bo bardi's 'casa de vidro' welcomes summer pavilion by sol camacho

from now until march 23, 2019, a temporary structure will occupy the gardens that surround lina bo bardi’s famed casa de vidro. designed by architect sol camacho, the pavilhão de verão, or summer pavilion, will host a variety of cultural and educational events during brazil’s warm months from december to march. the diverse program includes music and dance performances, lectures on architecture, arts and design, courses on drawing and gardening, and even culinary events for audiences of all ages.

the temporary structure responds to the design of the iconic house
image © leonardo finotti (also main image)

the project has been initiated by instituto bardi, an organization based out of casa de vidro itself. created in 1990 with the aim of promoting study and research in the areas of architecture, design, urbanism and brazilian popular art, the institute provides access to relevant aspects of national artistic thought and production. ‘the intention of activating other spaces of the house, while casa de vidro hosts MASP exhibition ‘sonia gomes – still I rise’ in its main salon, triggered the idea of building a temporary structure in its garden to present a diverse cultural program and a big fundraising event,’ says waldick jatobá, executive director of instituto bardi.

cross laminated timber has been used to construct the pavilion
image © leonardo finotti

the pavilion’s organic lines respond to a careful study of the site’s numerous trees. ‘lina thought and designed her house in total interaction with nature,’ explains sol camacho, who leads an architecture firm based in são paulo and mexico city. ‘she created, planted and took care of the garden of the glass house for four decades. the garden and the house complement each other. the pavilion had to follow this idea.’

the design accommodates the terrain of the site and its numerous trees
image © simon plestenjak

the form of the structure is a direct response to the site’s conditions. ‘the sinuous lines that define the border and benches came almost naturally just by sketching the possibilities of the platform’s overhang,’ camacho continues. ‘the resulting ‘ameba’ quickly related with the surrounding low retaining walls and handrail that lina designed for the garden. the idea of the black pillars merging as trees and sustaining the wooden canopy also follows the logic of blending with the context.’

the venue can host more than 200 visitors
image © simon plestenjak

this fluid shape was possible thanks to the material: cross laminated timber (CLT). the material, although widely used in the US and europe, is rarely used in brazil. ‘casa de vidro is one of the few cultural institutions in sao paulo that speaks, exhibits and promotes the conversation about contemporary architecture; the idea of building the pavilion with CLT had a clear intention to speak about new materials and possibilities of construction in the brazilian context,’ says the architect. the pavilion will remain open in the grounds of casa de vidro until march 23, 2019.

the pavilion viewed from linda bo bardi’s famed house
image © leonardo finotti

the pavilion will remain in the grounds of ‘casa de vidro’ until march 23, 2019
image © simon plestenjak

diagram illustrating the relationship between the pavilion and the house

project info:

client: instituto bardi / casa de vidro
project: pavilhão de verão (summer pavilion)
architect: m.arq sol camacho, principal of raddar architecture
team: raddar architecture: flora milanez, alina paias
engineering: engineer alan dias
photography: leonardo finotti, simon plestenjak