The Água Branca Mill was built in the Jaguaré neighborhood in the 1950s. It was a family enterprise, and the owning family built their residence next to the factory. This residence was inhabited until 1999 when the Correcta Alimentos company took over the mill's management.
Correcta is a food industry specializing in processing wheat and soy for the production of wheat flour, wheat bran, soybean bran, and degummed soybean oil. The company has 300 employees, with 65 of them working in the administrative area, divided into 5 departments: administrative, financial, human resources, commercial, and telemarketing.
The routine of these departments is quite operational, which led the company's management to opt for a low-hierarchy open space layout. All departments are integrated, except for the human resources department, which requires more privacy, and the telemarketing and commercial departments, which are noisier and therefore located in closed rooms.
The residence has 900m² of constructed area within an 8,000m² park.
The project's approach was to preserve the original architecture of the house as much as possible, as it is a beautiful modernist-style building. The finishes used on the original facade, such as the cobogó and marbles, are original to the construction and have all been restored.
The original square-shaped layout proved to be very rational for implementing the company's program, so it was retained despite a complete internal renovation.
The reception area features a large space bathed in natural light, which is actually a large covered garden. The environment is predominantly white to convey the image of hygiene and technology that the food industry demands.
The meeting rooms are all located around this garden. The layout is predominantly white to convey the image of hygiene and technology that the food industry demands.
The meeting and management rooms form a closed block in the center of the building, and the rest of the layout surrounds this block, all clad in ACM Alucobond. Circulation is linear, and spaces are fluid. Integration and transparency are fundamental concepts of the project.
Natural light was prioritized in this project, seeking it in all long-term use areas. This is why the staff area is all glassed and overlooks the park, promoting greater integration with nature.
The finishes used reflect the client's desire for a non-ostentatious project. The Mill's industry is a whole brick building, and this material was used inside the meeting and management rooms to remind of the original construction where the product marketed by the company is produced. The resin floor in the reception area evokes the industrial environment, and the vinyl floor also integrates this language, resembling burnt cement. Raised flooring was installed in the building to facilitate technology installations and maintenance.
The ceiling system is mixed, with drywall used in the reception areas and indirect lighting in the corridors to highlight the interior architecture. In the work areas, we opted for modular ceiling systems with acoustic characteristics.
