Casa Una is a multi-purpose showroom and community center that will serve as a focal point for a new mixed-use neighborhood in the city of Uberlandia, Brazil. Located in a public park that is the heart of the new neighborhood, the building houses the development’s showroom, an eatery, an open auditorium and an office space for the neighborhood association. It will also house a social program for high school students of the city’s public education system.
For this project our main ambition was to have the building act as an extension of the public park. Formally, its main feature is the green roof, which appears to peel off from the park’s surface, extending its vegetated area. In plan, the building’s curves follow the adjoining lake. Towards the street, the curved façade hugs an inviting entry plaza and the building presents itself as almost symmetrical. Walking around Casa Una, the curves and roof inclinations seem to transform at every step, and the generous openings toward the lake give it a more relaxed and dynamic appearance.
For the building’s structure, we used laminated timber from certified sources and left it exposed. The roof is composed of OSB panels and a vegetation system that helps cool the interior spaces. The building is cooled even further with the use of passive techniques such as cross ventilation and heat exhaust openings. All the exterior openings were fit with glass that reduces solar heat gain.
Casa Una has an expect life span of 25 to 30 years as the development’s showroom, at this point the neighborhood will be consolidated and completely built. The developers will then hand over the building to the neighborhood association to use as they see fit. With that in mind, we designed the interior space to be adaptable and capable of accommodating any emerging uses that could appear in the future.