GPA&A Designs Floating Administrative Center for Belo Horizonte

GPA&A Designs Floating Administrative Center for Belo Horizonte

Brazilian Firm GPA&A was unanimously chosen by a panel of judges to design the new Administrative Center for Belo Horizonte – the capital of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The judging commission selected the firm’s proposal because of its attention to accessibility, sustainability, and the quality of architectural and landscaping features. The transparent building features a bikeway leading to the top floor and is integrated with the metro and bus rapid transit systems. For more information and images, continue after the break.

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Courtesy of Gustavo Penna

The 13-story building occupies a built area of 100,000 square meters and is elevated over a 20-meter wide public square, which integrates space for pedestrians in order to improve social well-being. The building has a capacity of up to ten thousand people and will occupy the site of the city’s main bus station parking lot. In order to uphold the architectural heritage of the city, the design will preserve the old facades of the bus station, which is protected by the municipal heritage.

Courtesy of Gustavo Penna

For Gustavo Penna, principle of GPA&A, the building speaks primarily to the urban scale. “This work holds an urban dimension even bigger than an architectural one, considering it creates a sheltered square for co-existence that is four times the size of MASP, in São Paulo.”

Courtesy of Gustavo Penna

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Cite: Jennifer Whelan. "GPA&A Designs Floating Administrative Center for Belo Horizonte" 15 Aug 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/537668/gpa-and-a-designs-floating-administrative-center-with-a-public-square> ISSN 0719-8884

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