McDonald's - Freedom neighborhood

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 façade designed by Superlimão, is guided by sustainability, integration with the urban context and innovation in such a traditional element of Japanese culture. The main purpose is to promote the convergence between 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 project sought to incorporate characteristic elements, such as the cadenced roofs forming well-defined vertices and ridges, in addition to 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 in front of the location, creating a dynamic effect that attracts attention. In addition to its aesthetic aspect, the façade of Méqui Liberdade stands out for its environmental responsibility. Using recycled PET, a material also present in elements of the Paraíso unit, the façade is the first in the world to be made 100% with the material. The transformation of plastic into wool and its modeling into sheets provides not only an attractive aesthetic, but also durability and resistance to adverse weather conditions. In the façade of the Liberdade unit alone, the equivalent of 22 thousand bottles were reused. The references to Japanese culture extend beyond the structure of the pagoda, also covering the lighting and visual communication of the unit, including the installation of lamps characteristic of the neighborhood.