At one of São Paulo’s most iconic street corners—where the intensity of Avenida
Brigadeiro Faria Lima meets the more intimate, walkable scale of Rua Jeronimo da
Veiga—stands a building that seeks to define itself by more than just its height,
form, or presence in the landscape. Designed by Perkins&Will for Bolsa de Imóveis
and Lucio Properties, Jeronimo Faria Lima stems from a deeper ambition: to make
the intersection of architecture and the city a fundamental part of the project
experience.
This intention is evident from the very first decisions regarding the building's siting.
In a region characterized by corporate buildings that traditionally set themselves
back from the street to shield their interiors, Jeronimo Faria Lima takes the
opposite approach. Rather than establishing rigid boundaries between the site and
the city, the project focuses on transitions, points of convergence, and areas of
contact. Architecture is conceived as a sequence of experiences designed to
accommodate diverse ways of occupying and spending time in space, thereby
fostering a more open and inviting relationship with the urban environment.
This narrative begins at ground level but gains momentum just below it. The first
basement level—often treated as a secondary area in corporate developments—
takes center stage in the architectural composition. The space is transformed into
a sunken plaza featuring cafés, social areas, and collaborative zones, creating a
gathering spot that extends street life into the building. Far more than a mere
support area for the tower's occupants, the plaza functions as an extension of the
urban fabric, injecting vitality into the complex and offering new opportunities to
linger in an area otherwise defined by the intensity of commuting and a scarcity of
spaces for social interaction.
The way this plaza connects to the building is perhaps one of the project's most
revealing gestures. A walkway spanning the plaza leads users to the main lobby,
transforming an everyday route into a carefully crafted spatial experience. Rather
than an immediate entrance defined by an abrupt separation between public and
private realms, access unfolds gradually. The city remains present throughout the
journey, and the building presents itself as a continuation of that urban experience.
The walkway is not merely a functional element; it embodies the project's very
premise by creating a seamless transition between different spheres of use and
appropriation.
This same logic guides the visitor through the entire architectural design.
Materials, circulation paths, and sightlines were conceived to dissolve boundaries
and foster connections. Finishes extend beyond interior limits into open areas,
while transparent enclosures establish a constant visual dialogue between the
inside and the outside. Rather than creating barriers, the project seeks to generate
continuity, allowing the city's rhythm to be perceived from within and enabling the
building to play an active role in the urban landscape.
The building's massing also stems from this quest for balance and integration.
Rather than a monolithic tower, Jeronimo consists of two stacked prisms
separated by a spacious garden level. This cutout introduces a pause in the
verticality, softens the perceived scale of the built volume, and creates a breathing
space amidst the density of the Faria Lima area. More than just a formal solution,
this design move lends porosity to the complex and reinforces the building's
relationship with its surroundings. By incorporating a landscaped terrace into its
composition, the tower engages in a dialogue with the city—not only through its
physical presence but also through the spaces it chooses to open up.
Vegetation plays a fundamental role in this process. Present from the point of
arrival up to the elevated terraces, it weaves together the composition's various
levels and introduces a more human scale to the architectural experience. In a
region heavily defined by concrete, glass, and the rapid pace of urban flows, the
constant presence of landscaping creates moments of pause and contemplation,
enhancing the sense of welcome and reinforcing the connection between
architecture and nature.
If the building's massing expresses this intention on a large scale, the façade
translates it through detail. Its screen-printed patterns were not conceived merely
as a graphic or technical feature; they serve as the building's identity; kind of
fingerprint applied to the glass surface. The designs echo the tower's verticality,
create varying visual effects throughout the day, and lend depth to an apparently
simple composition. What appears from a distance as an elegant, precise volume
reveals an additional layer of detail and refinement when viewed up close.
This attention to the relationship between building and city is not limited to major
decisions regarding sitting or massing. It permeates the project at every scale and
finds expression precisely in the most subtle elements — those that often go
unnoticed at first glance yet are essential to shaping the architectural experience.
This same search for precision can be seen in the way the volumes were executed.
To ensure that the prisms maintained the geometric reading imagined during the
project's conception, the meeting of the ceilings at the ends of the tower required
artisanal cutting and assembly work. This is a solution that will be difficult for most
users to identify, but which contributes decisively to the clarity of the form and the
perception of the elegance that characterizes the building. It is a care that reveals
a particular understanding of architecture: that the quality of a space is not only
built by grand gestures, but also by the sum of silent decisions that support the
coherence of the proposal.
Thus, Jeronimo Faria Lima does not present itself as an isolated object within the
Faria Lima landscape, but rather as a piece of architecture that derives meaning
from the relationships it establishes. Its urban presence is defined not merely by
the form it takes on the skyline, but by the way it welcomes, connects, and guides
those who move through it. From the plaza to the lobby, from the intermediate
terrace to the façade design, and from the expansive voids to the almost
imperceptible details of its execution, the project demonstrates a consistent
understanding that architecture is built not only of material substance but also of
the experiences and narratives it generates. It is precisely this combination of
conceptual clarity, formal rigor, and attention to detail that solidifies its identity
and finds its most authentic expression within the city.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Architectural and Interior Design: Perkins&Will
Team: Douglas Tolaine, Fernando Vidal, Lara Kaiser, Adriana Barbosa, Cassia
Moral, Fernando Afonso, Fátima Oliveira, Cesar Ramos, Gabriela Viotti, Guilherme
Costa, Nivea Abrantes, Stephanie Luna, Isabella Gasparini, Tarini Borsois, Daniel
Falcão, Daniel Cruz.
Clients: Bolsa de Imóveis
Lucio Inc | @lucioincorporadora
Novo Marco | @novomarco.inc
Construction: Lucio Engenharia
Branding: UIWD | @uiwd
Landscape Design: Rodrigo Oliveira | @rodrigooliveira_paisagismo
Lighting design: Foco Luz e Desenho | @foco_ld
SUPPLIERS
Facade glazing: Guardian | @guardianbrasil
Wall and ceiling coverings: Trespa | @trespainternational
Pertech | @pertechdobrasil
Basalt cladding: BSC
Sanitary Ware and Fittings: Deca | @decaoficial
Facade: TG Group (C.Glass)
Window frames: Bimetal
Lighting: Lumini | @_lumini
Porcelain tile: Portobello | @portobello
Bicycle parking: Bikelink
Floreiras: Firgal
Photos and Videos: Manuel Sá | @omanuelsa
