McDonald's Liberdade

McDonald's has just opened a new location in São Paulo, in the Liberdade neighborhood. Located in the largest stronghold of the Japanese community in the city, the restaurant, with a facade designed by Superlimão, is guided by sustainability, integration with the urban context, and innovation in a traditional element of Japanese culture. The main purpose is to promote the convergence of tradition and technology, reflecting Japanese culture, which stands out for its innovative capacity without neglecting its traditions. Inspired by oriental pagodas, temples common in the land of the rising sun, the design sought to incorporate characteristic elements, such as the cadenced roofs forming well-defined vertices and ridges, as well as the slightly rounded eaves. Adaptations were made to reflect the brand's unique identity, resulting in three levels of a simplified pagoda that projects over the sidewalk and grows and shrinks as pedestrians pass by, creating a dynamic effect that attracts attention. Beyond its aesthetic aspect, the facade of the McDonald's Liberdade stands out for its environmental responsibility. Using recycled PET, a material also present in elements of the Paraíso unit, the facade is the first in the world to be made 100% of this material. Transforming the plastic into wool and shaping it into sheets provides not only an attractive aesthetic but also durability and resistance to adverse weather conditions. The facade of the Liberdade unit alone reused the equivalent of 22,000 bottles. The references to Japanese culture extend beyond the pagoda structure, also encompassing the unit's lighting and visual communication, including the installation of lamps characteristic of the neighborhood.