Office: Vão | ArchDaily

Explicit Bodies, Hidden Bodies Exhibition / Vão

Susanna Moreira — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 06:30:24 +0000

The body is the first trench of existence, state the curators of "Corpos explícitos, corpos ocultos" (Explicit Bodies, Hidden Bodies). By evoking the image of a border and preceding it with the word "first," the phrase provokes us to think about what other existential boundaries might be implicit within it. While the limits of the material body might outline a first image, the broader scope of the phrase can also lead us to reflect on other, less explicit bodies, such as psychic and spiritual ones.

PIVOT Installation / Vão + Héctor Zamora

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:23:00 +0000

The center pivot is an agricultural technology developed in the early 1950s to solve the irrigation of large areas, especially arid ones, making it possible to establish plantations even in the middle of a desert. However, by eliminating a series of variables in the planting process, the new system became globally popularized, being implemented in all types of climates and biomes. Its energy efficiency, uniform water distribution, and labor automation were some of the advantages that made the center pivot one of the most widely used systems in the world for monocultures.

Flexa Gallery / Vão

Valeria Silva — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:47:00 +0000

The design for Flexa Galeria was guided by an unusual logic in spatial renovations: transforming a pre-existing building by adding new layers while avoiding demolitions and removals as much as possible. This design decision was based on two premises established by the clients at the beginning of the process: ensuring the complete reversibility of the space to its original configuration, in case the leased property had to be returned, and the need to complete construction within a tight three-month deadline.

Joanópolis House / Vão

Andreas Luco — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

The site on the edge of the Jaguari dam, with a wide view of the Serra do Lopo, made it clear that Joanópolis House should establish a strong relationship with the landscape. However, the built context, close to the neighboring houses, suggested just the opposite. Out of this contradiction, a binuclear layout was designed, where one nucleus proposes a connection with the outside world and the other with the intimate universe. The need to create an internal courtyard to abstract from the surroundings led to the selection of an intermediate elevation as the main one. In other words, the first step was to define what would not be built. Then the two nuclei that surround and protect it were practically a consequence.

Exhibition for the 35th São Paulo Biennial 2023 Choreographies of the Impossible / vão

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Since the beginning of the design and graphic process of the 35th São Paulo Biennial, Choreographies of the Impossible, we were challenged to think about and through the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion. Designed and built in the 1950s, the building is notoriously known as a work by Oscar Niemeyer; however, it is necessary to say, in collaboration with architects Eduardo Kneese de Mello, Hélio Uchoa, and Zenon Lotufo. The architecture of the Pavilion, marked by the symbolic and representative weight of an era, challenged us to temporarily inscribe a choreography of paths and spaces different, with the purpose of splitting, or at least cracking its monumental character.

São João da Boa Vista House / Vão

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

“To dwell, to be set at peace means to remain at peace within the free sphere that safeguards each thing in its nature. The fundamental character of dwelling is this sparing and preserving. It pervades dwelling in its whole range. That range reveals itself to us as soon as we reflect that human being consists in dwelling and, indeed, dwelling in the sense of the stay of mortals on the earth.” – Martin Heidegger, Building Dwelling Thinking (1951)

São José do Barreiro House / Vão

Susanna Moreira — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

The design challenges of the São José do Barreiro house were not linked to the development of a daring structure or even sophisticated technical detailing. Nor should the greater effort be credited to the manipulation of the wind, the directing of natural light, and the framing of the landscape – even though these are fundamental strategies for the conception of its spatiality.

Bemglô Store / Vão

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Transform a half-buried garage into the first physical store of the multi-brand e-commerce Bemglô was the challenge faced on this project. Located in Oscar Freire Street, one of the most important commercial streets of São Paulo, the place is a reminiscent part of a building where some years ago another brand was already established.

Headquarters for a Block Factory / Vão

Daniel Tapia — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 19:00:00 +0000

The need to open the place, the low budget available and the rented land all played a role in preventing the construction of conventional headquarters for this block factory in Avaré, in São Paulo state. In this context, the partners considered acquiring a container, but it seemed nonsensical to house the future head office and showroom of the factory without employing the material that it produces.

Viadutos Apartment / Vão

Rayen Sagredo — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 14:00:00 +0000

The Viadutos Building, designed and built by the architect Artacho Jurado during the 1950s, is a historic landmark in São Paulo. Its imposing implantation in an island resulting from the Plan of Avenues of Prestes Maia, centrally demarcates the visual axis of who transits by the Viaduct Nove de Julho.

Antônio Bicudo Apartment / Vão

Cristobal Rojas — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 09:00:00 +0000

The apartment Antônio Bicudo is located on the upper level of a three levels building, situated in the neighborhood of Pinheiros. The stand point requested by the future resident was that the 50m² of the useful area were to be rearranged, so that the bedroom could be isolated from the remaining spaces. Considering it, the construction was realized almost without any demolition, which is quite unusual in remodeling projects.

Ownerless House nº 01 / Vão

Rayen Sagredo — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 13:00:00 +0000

The Ownerless House nº 01 is the first of three contiguous lands bought by the client with the intent of building investment houses in Avaré, a city in the interior of São Paulo. The single family housing projects usually turns to desires and particularities of the clients but in this case, the client being only an intermediary to the future resident, the program and space should be flexible enough to accommodate the most diverse families dynamics.

Acolá Store / Vão

Daniel Tapia — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 09:00:00 +0000

The invitation to design the new Acolá Store was received with great happiness because, due to the years of friendship between us and its creators, we have closely followed the trajectory of the brand since its beginning in 2012. In the first visit to the new address, a former loft of triangular plan located a few meters from the old store, we faced a tapered, wet and dark place, since there were only four small openings to light and ventilate the entire space.