Inspired by Nature: Getting to Know the Work of Atelier Marko Brajovic

Written by Victor Delaqua | Translated by Diogo Simões
Published on March 21, 2022

Based in São Paulo, Atelier Marko Brajovic was founded in 2006 by architect Marko Brajovic. With a multidisciplinary practice, the idea of the hybrid manifests itself as the conceptual north of the office that operates on several fronts: architecture, scenography, expography, creative direction, interior and product design. With a vast language that explores different areas, formats and aesthetics, its projects are, above all, recognized for breaking with the modern canon and seeking solutions in nature.

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In addition to the creative direction of the Croatian-Brazilian architect, Bruno Bezerra performs the role of director of architectural projects. These are instrumentalized from three phases: the behavioral study, phenomenology and biomimicry. This is the last fundamental point for the office, because, for them, nature is seen as the technology of the future, where it is possible to find highly developed and intelligent systematic solutions, and, for this reason, it inspires a resilient architecture with a sense of existing, which joins purpose with essence.

The approach to nature happened mainly in the Amazon, for more than ten years Marko Brajovic is one of the professors at the Architectural Association Visiting School Amazon, where he researches and teaches about how nature can help to conceive new thoughts for architecture and the climate challenges of contemporary times. Its proximity to the Amazon rainforest has brought projects such as Amazônia 4.0 and a Floating Library on the rivers of the region. In addition, at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, his studio was invited to exhibit the project ROOTS - mangrove ecosystem, a space for humans to connect with their inner nature, with ancestral knowledge and ecological awareness.

To learn more about the Atelier's philosophy, it is possible to read some texts published by Marko Brajovic, such as "Cities at the end of the world", where he comments that "for the human species to remain on this planet, our paradigms of organization, logistics, collective consciousness and relationships must redefine themselves on organic rather than mechanical paradigms", and the "How will we live together with all other species?", in which, seeking an answer to the question posed by Harshim Sarkis at the last Venice Biennale of Architecture, Brajovic states that "buildings like trees and cities like forests propose an evolution of modernist architecture paradigms from mechanical to organic and that changes everything. Where architecture is designed through regenerative processes that mimic ecological interrelation."

Here are some projects carried out by Atelier Marko Brajovic that have already been published on ArchDaily Brasil: