360 Points of View

The aim of this competition was to design an infopoint within Pampulha Complex, an important architectural set designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the 40’s in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The infopoint should be a place where visitors could get informations and directions to explore the complex, which has several famous buildings, such as São Francisco de Assis Church, Mineirão Stadium, Casa de Baile and Cassino da Pampulha.

The concept is to create a reference for people who are visiting one of the most important creations of Brazilian architecture. We did not want our Infopoint to be just a place where people could get informations. We wanted it to be a place that could organize the tour, connect the points and create an unique experience. We thought of our design as an invitation. An invitation to get to know one of the most fascinating places in Brazil.

The design is based on a 360° path, developed along an inclined ring shape. The path starts on land, with the access at the bottom face of the ring. From there, visitors go to an open gap, inside the lake. From this gap, where is located the café, the guests can have a series of interesting views of the Pampulha Complex.
In the 40’s, Oscar Niemeyer said that the lake and the whole complex were drawn to be seen from the lake, above the water.

From this point, the path returns to land, and the visitors can go to the multiuse space, a big ramp intersected by plans. Along this space, at a 5m level, people have different views and a different sense of perception of the complex.

One of our goals was to keep the 360° path clean and concise. In order to achieve that, some parts of the program, such as bathrooms and kitchen, were disposed along the inside perimeter of the ring, hidden under the water. The building is structurally composed by reinforced concrete slabs and steel trusses.