Building for Bouwkunde

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Merten

This week the results of the open ideas competition for the new architecture faculty of the TU Delft were presented. During the ceremony at the Nai in Rotterdam minister of culture and science Plasterk handed out the prizes. Liesbeth van der Pol, head of the jury, presented the 8 nominees. All projects are displayed in Nai Rotterdam (Gallery 3) from 15 march to 7 june 2009.

Projetos Urbanos was among the projects included in the so-called longlist of 50 projects in the second phase of the juration. In total 466 projects were evaluated.

Model of the old building, displayed at the Nai exhibition

Project: Educational Landscape
Architecture: Merten Nefs and Vanessa Grossman
Company: Projetos Urbanos
Year: 2008
Gross floor area: 60.000 square meters
Evaluation: jury selection for longlist

“The Bouwkunde site is located at the transitional space between the urban and rural zone of Delft. The project is conceived as superposition of both scales. The ground floor is treated as a patchwork of activities, which are distributed in parcels and can continuously be redistributed and appropriated by the Faculty’s users. These parcels are covered by a flexible greenhouse structure.
Three serving buildings emerge from this landscape channeling the flow of people, the way anthills do, towards the studios. These “anthills” are in their singular form a pile of earth and vegetation with excavated service chambers.
The studio slab and the office tower represent an important contribution to the existing skyline of the city.”

Cine Paulistano

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Merten

Cine Paulistano offers alternative cinema, exhibitions and other cultural activities for free or at low prices. It will therefore stimulate cultural life in downtown São Paulo and help revitalize this area. The project transforms the ground floor of a building from the 1940´s – currently in use as a parking garage – into a cultural center, equipped with a movie theater of 75 seats, a café and a flexible exhibition space.
The typical paulistan sidewalk tiles continue inside the building, making the cultural center an extension of public space and emphasizing the accessibility for all social classes. The 35mm projector is placed in an air-conditioned glass cube to give the visitor insight in the handling and projection method of celluloid film.

Architecture:   Fernando Serapião, Vinicius Andrade, Marcelo Morettin and Merten Nefs
Cultural management:   Via Gutenberg
Consultants:   TRÍADE (cost calculations); Silvia Helena (zoning laws and land use)
Graphic arts: Loroverz (graffiti)
Location:   Largo do Arouche, São Paulo
Net floor area:   1.029 square meters
Status:   financing and sponsoring

Edifício Concórdia

Posted on December 11, 2008 by Merten

Foi concluída a reforma do prédio na Avenida Ipiranga n° 1.248. O prédio dos anos 50 havia sido invadido duas vezes e estava vazio havia um bom tempo. O edifício de escritórios foi transformado em moradias. Faz parte de uma onda de obras na região que aos poucos vêm revitalizando o centro da cidade. É uma resposta da iniciativa privada à alta demanda de moradia de custo acessível no centro e à situação de abandono.

A reforma buscou resgatar a arquitetura original da época e equipar o edifício com nova infraestrutura, caixilhos e áreas molhadas para seus novos moradores. As 226 unidades de entre 30 e 50 m2 já foram todas vendidas e o empreendedor segue com mais trabalhos na mesma região.

Arquitetura: Pierre e Marina Mermelstein, Merten Nefs
Obra: Arco- arquitetura planejamento e construção ltda.
Área bruta: 9.242 m2
Pavimentos: 20, incluindo a entrada no térreo e salão de festas no 19°
Conclusão da obra: 2008