Samanea | ARCHITECTS OFFICE

The Samanea building begins with a quiet question: how is it still possible to breathe in the
contemporary city? In a context defined by increasing verticalization, the scarcity of green
areas and the rarity of undeveloped sites, the project transforms these tensions into
architectural material. Developed for Idea!Zarvos, it proposes a reflection on new ways of
occupying São Paulo, in which density and nature no longer operate as opposing forces,
but coexist as parts of the same system.

The site encapsulates a condition that is becoming increasingly common in the city: an
irregular, fragmented geometry shaped by successive urban transformations. Rather than
correcting these imperfections, the project incorporates them as a design principle. Its form
does not emerge from an arbitrary gesture, but from a process of adaptation to the
constraints of the site. The mandatory setbacks, shaped by the corners and boundaries of
the plot, generate an envelope that guides the massing and defines the building’s identity. As in natural processes of growth, the architecture finds its form by responding to the tensions that surround it.

A vertical composition in transformation

The tower develops as a stepped arrangement of volumes that expand and recede in
response to views, regulations and the different scales of the surrounding context. There is
no intention to create a homogeneous or monumental object. The massing continuously
adjusts, producing a composition in constant transformation. Each step establishes a
specific relationship with the city, creating a gradual transition between the scale of the
lower buildings and the new vertical landmarks that define the contemporary urban
landscape.
This logic is also reflected in the experience of the apartments. The curved terraces do not
emerge as a formal gesture, but as a direct consequence of the conditions that shaped the
building. They strengthen the relationship between indoors and outdoors, bringing everyday
life closer to changes in light, wind, vegetation and landscape. Circulation areas cease to
function merely as passageways and become part of the experience of inhabiting the
building, creating spaces that are more open, fluid and connected to their surroundings.
Architecture, nature and atmosphere
At ground level, the building almost withdraws to allow the garden to take place. A large
landscaped void extends across the site and connects the street to the architecture,
creating a gradual transition between the city and the building. Through pergolas, shaded
areas and semi-open spaces, the route transforms arrival into an experience of pause and
permanence. More than an entrance, this space operates as green infrastructure in an area
marked by a lack of open spaces.
The presence of vegetation, with landscape design by Rodrigo Oliveira, is not treated as
ornament. It shapes the project’s atmosphere and structures its spatial logic. The garden
does not appear after the architecture; it seems to be the very reason the architecture exists
in this form. The decision to free the ground plane and create a large green lung amid the
urban density is also what justifies the verticalization of the tower.
On the façade, the same geometric logic that organizes the massing unfolds through a
modular system of prefabricated panels. The curves created by the advancing and receding
volumes generate depth, shade and solar protection, while timber-clad elements articulate
entrances, shared areas and technical volumes. Form, performance and materiality operate
in an integrated way, reinforcing the continuity between architecture and environment.

An architectural ecosystem

Samanea also represents a new chapter in the long-standing relationship between
Architects Office and Idea!Zarvos – a collaboration built over years of shared investigation
into the city, real estate development and architecture. Within this trajectory, the project synthesizes a mature understanding of how urban, economic and regulatory constraints can be transformed into architectural opportunities.

More than a residential building, Samanea proposes a reflection on contemporary ways of
living in the city. It is a project in which verticalization, landscape, density and collective
experience coexist as part of the same architectural ecosystem, capable of producing not
only occupation, but also breathing space, permanence and a relationship with its
surroundings.