paulo mendes da rocha + metro arquitetos: cais das artes

designboom has recently returned from a short trip to sao paulo where we met up with esteemed brazilian architect paulo mendez da rocha and martin corullon of local practice metro arquitetos associados to take a look at their latest collaborative project now under construction. the ‘cais das artes’, or ‘pier of the arts’, is an appropriately-named museum and theater complex located in vitoria, just north of rio de janeiro along sua bay’s built coast. the site is a recently created concrete plane along the dock in an area benefiting from lovely views of the native landscape and the city backdrop, amongst new constructions and historical treasures. the primary strategy was to command this important space to convert it into the cultural center of the metropolis while preserving the character of place — not an easy task considering the very large masses that would need to be built to accommodate a three-level museum and 1,300-seat theater.

architect paulo mendes da rocha sums up the crux of the project: ‘this is an urban-oriented architectural action, in the sense of adjusting history and geography to a desired view of the present, indicating at the same time a museological conception, an effort to combine art and science, under an integrated perspective.’

see additional information in designboom’s studio visit to da rocha’s office here.

image © metro arquitetos
all images courtesy of metro arquitetos associados

the massing concept was therefore to lift the program off the ground plane, freeing an expansive plaza for large scale artistic events and more importantly opening views through the site at human-scale, both onto land and out to sea. the exhibition spaces are located in the 69 meter long pre-tensioned parallel concrete beams measuring 7 meters high touching the ground at only six points. twenty-meter bays regulated by the spans in between anchoring columns. interstitial platforms house the display areas visually connected to each other, reflecting indirect natural light off the floors. support and services are all located in a 22 m2 by 23-meter high annexed cube connected to the main volume by bridges. the museum can be conceived of as a bridge typology with a cafe, restaurants, bookstores and open-air exhibit space greeting visitors at the plaza. the theater is located in a structurally echoed, albeit independent, volume that is partially supported over the sea. the centrally-located performance hall uses 10-meter wide lateral corridors for support functions and circulation. only the technical areas under the stage are actually connected to the ground for ease of equipment transportation.

view from the bridge
image © metro arquitetos

elevation
image © metro arquitetos

exterior courtyard between the museum and theater
image © metro arquitetos

image © metro arquitetos

interior
image © metro arquitetos

overall construction progress
image © metro arquitetos

image © leonardo finotti

‘cais das artes’ by paulo mendes da rocha + metro arquitetos, sao paulo, brazil
image © metro arquitetos

‘cais das artes’ by paulo mendes da rocha + metro arquitetos, sao paulo, brazil
image © metro arquitetos

‘cais das artes’ by paulo mendes da rocha + metro arquitetos, sao paulo, brazil
image © leonardo finotti

image © leonardo finotti

image © leonardo finotti

image © leonardo finotti

‘cais das artes’ by paulo mendes da rocha + metro arquitetos, sao paulo, brazil
image © metro arquitetos

view down the long structure on the exhibition platforms
image © leonardo finotti

secondary steel structure
image © leonardo finotti

image © metro arquitetos

bridges connecting the main museum volume to the annex (photo from the annex)
image © metro arquitetos

cube addition facade
image © metro arquitetos

construction materials
image © leonardo finotti

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

floor plan / level 3

section

section

section

project info:

name of project: quay of arts | museum and theater
client: government of the state of espírito santo and arcelormittal-cst (companhia siderurgica de tubarão)
project: may 2007-may 2008
square total area: 26,500m2
museum total area: 8,500m²
theater total area: 14,000m²
architecture: paulo mendes da rocha; metro arquitetos associados: martin corullon, anna ferrari, gustavo cedroni
collaborators from metro arquitetos associados: flavio rogozinski, marcia terazaki, miki itabashi, paloma delgado, paula mendonça,
marina ioshii, francisca lopes, rafael de sousa silva, bruno jin young kim, alfonso simelio jurado, paula nóia, pedro mesquita.
structure: kurkdjian & fruchtengarten engenheiros associados, eng. jorge zaven kurkdjian
electric, hydraulic and complementary installations: etip projetos de engenharia, eng. airton vianna
hydraulic and draining consulting: eng. julio cerqueira césar
automation and security project: hos projetos
air conditioning: thermoplan engenharia térmica, eng. eizo kosai
acoustics and theater technique: acústica & sônica consultores, arq. josé augusto nepomuceno
lighting design: ricardo heder e juliana pongitor
special flooring projects: lpe engenharia e consultoria, eng. silvia maria botacini
waterproofing projects: proassp assessoria e projetos, eng. silvana