THE SCISSORS.  Transforming Intervention of a  Hotel To Net Zero Carbon.

In 2022 we started the transformation of the Kilombo Vilas Hotel, a resort on a stunning beach of the Northeast of Brazil populated by dolphins and turtles. The strategy of the interventions was based on two actions with a sustainable approach. The first design intervention was a poetic pavilion of three leaves of timber and bamboo in which the projected shadow during the day and the warm artificial light at night remind every user of the need of wild preservation, turning the touristic experience into an educational experience as well. 

This second intervention, “The Scissors”, was focused in transforming the whole Hotel into a Net Zero Energy complex, while reorganizing the entrance areas, parking, reception, Drop-Off, Orchard and Delivery areas coherently with the new activities hosted at the pavilion. The scissors consisted on a roofing matrix of the same structural element repeated within the same distance and supporting 400m2 of solar panels, which generates 30% more energy that what the whole Hotel consumes.

The scissor is the structural timber prefab element that supports the roof while expressing at the same time the structural beauty of an elementary exercise of decomposition and transmission of gravitational and wind forces to the plot. 

The plot site, 6 degrees below the equator has more than 300 days of sun exposure, a tremendous renewable energy that has converted the Hotel in a Net Zero Carbon building, generating 130.000 Kw/h per month, 30% more than the energy that the building needs.  

Like in the original Tom Jobim´s Bossa Nova classic “Samba de Uma Nota Só”, which mainly structure is made out of one single note, the Project organizes the space and the program with the repetition of one single prefab element: “The Scissor “ suggesting that, like in Jobim lyrics, beauty and complexity does not come from accumulation but from Sophistication of Simplicity.

Both interventions have been designed with natural materials from inner areas:timber, wood, bamboo, stone, piassava palm, all elements with almost zero carbon impact and a permeable flooring.

Both interventions are removable, transportable and recyclable as a committed and sustainable approach with the principles of circular economy.

Both interventions significantly enhanced the Hotel Architecture, economy and brand image in a sustainable way.

TEAM: Daniel Florez, Leandra Fernandes, Marina Loureiro, Wendy Cruz

https://www.atelierdanielflorez.com/the-scissors

CLIENT: Kilombo Villas Hotel

ENGINEERING: Salvador Alemany