SÃO PAULO — Triptyque’s residential complex building Arapiraca resembles an 8-bit video game — think Pac Man Maze meets bathhouse. Its shiny blue and white Athos Bulcão-like tiles yield a pixelated effect in juxtaposition to the gritty grey external facade.
The historical reference also appears in ceramics, as a mention to the Portuguese, the first immigrants who occupied the region. The blue and white azulejos, a tribute to the artist Athos Bulcão, cover all internal facades. Smooth and reflective, they give life to the facades while illuminating the center of the ground. The apparent layers of the gabions give a brutalist aspect to the whole.
ArchDaily writes Triptyque’s goal was to create a natural dialogue between the building and its urban base of Vila Madalena neighborhood.
The collective memory of Vila Madalena takes place in the choice of coatings, which the predominance of projected concrete – rough and rustic material, almost primitive, in graphite color – is a reference to the very used coating for the old constructions of the district.
The architects divided the complex into eight blocks, each with independent access. A ninth block confines many of the shared areas — the elevators, shafts and stairs. Additional shared spaces are found on the rooftops of each of the residential blocks. Simultaneously, the configuration fosters privacy allowing residents to comfortably enjoy generous terraces and high ceilings similar to those found in single family dwellings.
About the architects: Since 2000, Triptyque Architecture explores tools to serve the contemporary and sustainable architecture and to contribute to the development of urban areas. Now based in São Paulo and Paris, the agency created by Grégory Bousquet, Carolina Bueno, Guillaume Sibaud and Olivier Raffaelli completes 15 years of creation.
Side-by-side view
Do you love or loathe this tile work from the worlds of contemporary ceramics and contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
IT’s a blot on the landscape.
I agree with Bill, its scale is but a blot with regard to the landscape, yet we can hope that more buildings will be decorated so creatively and awesomely.