PALACETE

The Palacete is a landmark building at Rua Chile by the Elevador Lacerda. The building stands as a testimony of the strength and importance of Rua Chile. Rua Chile was the first planned street in Brazil and for many years the administrative and leisure center of the city. The building used to accommodate the union of commerce in the city. It is uniquely rich in ornaments and details inside and outside and is listed as a national heritage.

The building consists of the original structure and a later addition of service facilities. The addition features a facade replicating the original one and is devoid of the interior ornaments found in the main building.

INSERTION

This project consists of the recuperation of the building and its careful transformation into a department store. This new intervention aims to respect, renovate and protect the architecture of the building.

Our strategy focuses on the preservation of the original and historic part of the building, liberating it from obligations of contemporary performance demands. This is achieved by inserting a new super compact tower of technical infrastructure and circulation compressed in the youngest part of the building.

This latest addition solves all contemporary and technical needs required to re-inhabit the building. Furthermore, the tower supports a new levitated viewing platform at the top of the building. This platform materializes another urban polarity within the historic city center and the Bahia de Todos os Santos.