RiverOne is a pioneer edifice in São Paulo, as it brings together commercial, corporate and residential uses in a single 500 ft tall tower.
Designed by Perkins+Will's São Paulo studio, the project is groundbreaking in the city, as mixed-use complexes are commonly constituted by two or more volumes.
Initially responsible for creating a new corporate edifice in place of a former Johnson & Johnson unit, the architects took advantage of the city’s newly updated legislation to propose a construction that seized most of the five-thousand-sqm terrain’s potential, as the site is located next to one of the busiest areas in the city.
“The collaborative trend is changing society and creating new habits and ways to work, inhabit, consume and experience the city. RiverOne was conceived to answer to these new needs, transforming the life of its users and surroundings. The main goal was to offer an adequate project that represented these profound changes we are going through”, explains Douglas Tolaine, Perkins+Will’s Design Principal.
RiverOne’s project took part of the possibilities offered by São Paulo’s recently updated legislation. “The new zoning laws brought new possibilities that stimulate architectural creativity, making it possible for us to propose different solutions such as facades that interact with the surroundings and integrate internal and external spaces”, Douglas analyses.
RiverOne is a case where the legal content transformed the project’s initial demand, which was for a traditional corporate edifice. The renovated project proposes a mixed-use complex that seizes the surrounding’s infrastructure – being right next to a new subway station, for instance – and meets pedestrian, users and residents’ needs. The new legislation also made it possible for the project to gain 20% of additional area.
Located in an area of intense traffic, RiverOne has the goal to reintroduce human scale to the city, attracting more pedestrians to the sidewalks. At the ground floor, RiverOne will offer spaces for commercial activities and a theater. The areas are distributed along the edifice’s first four levels.
Corporate spaces start at RiverOne’s sixth pavement and go all the way to the 19th. The Triple A pattern offices will have two-story high ceilings and 1.2 thousand sqm floor slabs.
The residential portion of the complex starts at a 295 ft height. At the 20th floor is an infinite edge swimming pool facing Pinheiros River, giving the residents a breathtaking view of the city’s skyline. The following fifteen floors hold 120 apartments (eight units each) with 35 to 110 sqm configurations.
