Marilia

Architectural Design: The history of this house located just a few meters from Avenida Paulista begins at the beginning of the 20th century, as shown by its first city hall plan dated 1915. Modest in proportions compared to the large houses in the region, but rich in details, it has undergone several renovations and uses throughout its almost century of existence. A small survivor in a region today full of tall glass towers, it was therefore decided from the outset that the house would continue to exist. In order to adapt the residence with small compartmentalized areas to its new commercial use, it was decided to unify the spaces. Creating large spaces that can be closed according to the client's needs, thus giving great flexibility to the space. This required a major structural and infrastructural intervention. To this end, it was decided that all interventions would be undertaken, so that the contrast between the new and the old would be explicit. Implementation and Volumetry: In order to achieve the highest possible coefficient of use, without the building losing its characteristic of a house, an in-depth study was carried out in which legislation, energy use and the different periods through which the house had been used were the determining factors. The demolition of poorly used areas allowed the construction of two more floors. These were built respecting the new setbacks, which created a pyramidal volumetry. In this way, all the rooms have direct access to generous terraces. During the excavation of the basement to build the foundations, beautiful foundations with large bricks were found. This space was used as a technical area to house the electrical and hydraulic installations and the elevator machine room. Structure: Due to its advanced age and because it is a structural masonry construction, it was decided to create an independent metal structure, which, like an exoskeleton, transfers the new loads directly to new foundations built literally below the existing house. In cases where the walls were already damaged, different restoration techniques were used, such as the placement of external profiles, connected by tie rods. These compress the walls and prevent them from collapsing like a house of cards. This is a technique widely used in the restoration of medieval buildings in Italy. Closures and Coatings: On the original floors, walls were stripped, revealing the different periods and renovations that the house had undergone. Brick arches and concrete lintels with river pebbles were some of the elements that appeared in this phase of the project. The walls that were removed had their material duly stored and, at the appropriate stage, reused to make the closures on the new floors. The same happened with the wooden floor, roof beams, door frames, doors and windows, which were restored and used according to their original function or remodeled to create furniture. Of note is the external floor made with broken tiles and the door made with roof purlins. The upper floors were enclosed with frames that sometimes swing and sometimes tilt, allowing control of the entry of natural light and ventilation. In order to adapt this century-old residence for its new use as an office, it was decided that we would seek to make the most of the existing qualities, which is made clear by the almost total use of the structure and materials. The flooring on the first floors was reinstalled, while the new areas have raised cement slab floors. Sustainability: In addition to almost completely reusing the existing material, the prefabricated structure drastically reduced the generation of debris, and consequently energy costs and CO2 emissions from transportation. Energy efficiency was one of the main factors in this project, for which several studies using electronic models and energy sizing software were used to define the materials and openings. The original wide walls ensure great thermal inertia, which, combined with cross ventilation, create a pleasant environment, minimizing the use of air conditioning. In the new floors, sliding frames combined with tilting windows allow ventilation control and optimize the entry of light. All rainwater is collected through drains hidden under the raised floor. It is filtered and stored in two large 10,000-liter tanks located in the basement. Smaller water tanks located on the roof allow water to be used by gravity, thus reducing the need for pumping without overloading the structure.