Groenlândia’s white marble box, set back from its namesake street in Jardins São Paulo, makes heavy horizontal stacks appear remarkably light and airy, thanks partially to a glass-pane foyer on the ground floor and snaking layers of opaque marble and transparent glass. Jacaranda trees surround the plot, diffusing the light and creating a soft reflecting air around the building. And the front yard’s mix of marble, concrete, papyrus, jacaranda trees and water reinforces the "Greenland" name’s multiple meanings: referring to both the greenery around the building, and the icy, white, marble materiality suggestive of Greenland's glacial terrain.

From the architects:

// Groenlândia

Triptyque has just completed a commercial space Groenlândia in the very chic neighborhood of São Paulo, who defies the gravity. Behind the Jacaranda creepers and the ten meters palm trunks, appears a block of white marble in the middle of a mineral garden. Triptyque wanted to emphasize the stiffest materials such as marble and concrete to challenge them with the gravity. Groenlândia links together stone and glass, rigidity and transparency, durability and lightness.

The deck, a large slab of concrete floats from over 9m, above a block of white marble suspended for two masterful concrete pillars in the center of the block. Large transparent windows support the deck creating an invisible link with the marble. The block of stone is pierced by open windows in marble, creating a paradox between the function and the matter. The corners of the stone block are based on aquatic beds sprinkled of Papyrus. Inside, floating stairs lead visitors to the terrace for a wonderful view. Despite the closed aspect of this upscale neighborhood of São Paulo, the building, without fence, is in direct contact with the street. Once again the Triptyque architects put in contact the private space (the architecture) and the public place (the city).

Présentation

Since 2001, 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 13 years of creation.

Datasheet:

Project : Groenlândia

Location : Rua Groenlândia, 1157, Jardins São Paulo

Project year: 2010

Delivery year: 2014

Construction surface: 993 m²

Basement surface: 308 m²

Plot surface: 290 m²

Top floor surface: 341 m²

Deck surface: 300 m²  

Architecture: TRIPTYQUE

Partners: Greg Bousquet, Carolina Bueno, Guillaume Sibaud and Olivier Raffaelli

Manager: Luiz Trindade

Project Manager: Pedro de Mattos Ferraz e Paulo Adolfo Martins

Team: Murillo Fantinati, Luísa Vicentini, Priscila Mansur, Priscila Fialho, Natallia Shimora, Gabriele Falconi, Nely Silveira, Alfredo Luvison,  Danilo Bassani, Thiago Bicas.

Photo credits: Pedro Kok: foto@pedrokok.com.br

Constructor:

Brandao e Marmo, Supervisor Anderson Toledo, João Carmona

Partners: Fábio Baptista e José Paulo da Silva

Providers:

Glass: Primo Vidros

Facade: Granicut

Fundation: Solosfera

Ilumination: Cia da Iluminação

Wooden deck: Phênix Decor Pisos

Metal structure: São Carlos

Painting: W Cor

Locksmith: Paulifer

Others:

Landscaping: Bia Abreu e Triptyque

Frame: GamaZ, colaboração Eng. Helvas

Hydraulic: K2P Projetos

Electric system: K2P Projetos

Facade: Arquiteto Paulo Henrique Araldi Pena

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