08 033 | TORRE-FARO BRASIL. RIO DE JANEIRO. 2008 | 2.000M2 |
Tower-lighthouse. 17-storey building | competition |
Undressing the ilha de Cotunduba
The Ilha de Cotunduba is excited by the proximity of the 2016 Olympics, wakes up and stretches its arms with the clear intention of reaching the sky, diving into the sea and being visible from the far distance city and by the new visitors arriving by plane.
The Ilha de Cotunduba has decided it is the time to get the finger of responsibility pointing to it and find a new position among the main attractions of Rio de Janeiro. For this new self-assigned task, the Ilha searches inspiration looking towards the people moving along the Copacabana Beach at the same time that feels that the figure of the Pao de Açúcar could be a true companion. The strategy lies on a paradoxical merging between the leisurely walking of the people enjoying Capacabana Beach, the watching and guiding position of such an icon as the Pao de Açúcar and the rhythmic character of the sea.
Beginning from the geological nature of the island itself, the structure for a Tower-Lighthouse emerges from the sea to define a pier that starts a sort of rambling that spreads the rest of the structure like an echo. Once the structure is deeply rooted on the island’s earth, greenery and rocks, the first echoes become a song that guides the rising of the steel structure emerging from the island in the fashion of a stripper that gradually removes this earth, the greenery and rocks to let room for the leisure and cultural facilities to be allocated along the tower.
The Tower-Lighthouse drags the natural elements of the island all along its height. The Tower wants to bring into accord the natural environment of the island with the new uses, avoiding the construction of a self sufficient and independent structure. The result is a movement that pretends to raise the island itself while finding a privileged view for the new facilities and uses.
The Tower is a protrude flow of natural elements that find the way to remain in their new high-rise position. A tower to see the city and a tower to be seen, from the rest of the world. In front of the Morro de Leme and between the Copacabana Beach and the Pao de Açúcar, in a strategic position to wave the ships entering the harbour or planes landing into the city airport.
The scheme is mixed and the proposal wants to integrate observation, leisure, culture and retail in a harmonious walk by clearly concentrating every use on consecutive levels and leaving the task of sewing the promenade to the observation decks and the bridges and paths that communicate them. The Tower grows calmly and irregularly like strolling upwards and having the time to stop here and there on the observation decks to get advantage of the views.