ANDRÉ CAETANO
Architecture and Urban Planning. 2018-2025.
Curriculum Vitae
Torch Cay Island Kastaniehaven Børnehave
A GLOBAL APPROACH...
A list of professional projects I’ve contributed for at least 6 months so far in my career shows the capacity to adapt to different cultures and approaches
Bottlebrush Residence, Professional (lead arch.) Malibu US PCH Residence,Professional (lead arch.) Malibu US Torch Cay Island, Professional (coord arch.) Bahamas
Bonn Residences, Professional (team member) Bonn GER Kastaniehaven Børnehave, Professional (team member) c.Copenhagen DEN Hotel Nørrevang, Professional (team member)Marielyst DEN
BCWaterfront,ProfessionalUrban(team member) Balneário Camboriú,BrazilSãoPauloZoo,Professional(intern) SãoPaulo,Brazil
Charitas Waterfront,ProfessionalUrban(team member) Niterói,BrazilSugarLoaf MountainRenno.,Professional(team member) RiodeJaneiro,Brazil
Lamar Residences, Professional (team member)Málaga ES David Rosas Luxury Mall, Professional (team member)Lisbon PT
Viamar Residences, Professional (team member)Dubai UAE
ANDRÉ CAETANO
André Gabriel Caetano Leite was born in 2001 in Portugal, and moved to Rio de Janeiro when he was still young. Today, he’s a detail-oriented architect and urban planner with years of international experience in conceptual design, BIM modeling, and technical detailing. Skilled in parametric design, sustainable architecture, and interdisciplinary collaboration, with a strong focus on material studies and the integration of advanced technologies. Adept at managing projects through all design phases and contributing to award-winning architectural competitions.
Professional Experience Education
2025- current
Post Graduation
Universidad de Barcelona
Energetic/ Environmental Certifications, Sustainable Architecture
2024
TU Delft Course
Energy Demands in Buildings (DelftX)
2019-2024
BAC+5 PUC-Rio de Janeiro Architecture and Urban Planning
1o place entrance exams; 100% academic scholarship
2022.1 Copenhagen University Exchange Program Architecture and Design; 2008-2018
Colégio São Bento, RJ Cum Laude graduate, 100% scholarship
Languages
Portuguese/ English:fluent
Spanish: B2 DELE
French:B2 DELF
S oftwares
Autocad
Rhino/Enscape
Revit/ D5
Adobe Package Office MS Dynamo
Sketchup
ArchiCad
Formit/Navisworks
Python(Iron; Windows)
QGis
JUL 2024- CURRENT
Architect at the International Projects Team
Studio Arthur Casas (São Paulo, NY)
• Lead Architect on US and Caribbean projects focusing on DD and CD deliveries.
• Lead the creation and management of new Revit Templates for the office, Family Libraries and Office Details Booklet, adhering to ISO, LOD standards and local codes both for metric and imperial systems.
FEB 2021- NOV 2021 and AUG 2022 - JUN 2024
Architecture and Urban Plan. Intern -Architecture and Urban Plan. Trainee Indio da Costa A.U.D.T. (Rio de Janeiro)
• Developed 3D models, office templates and BIM analyses/detailed designs using Revit, Formit, and Dynamo.
• Participated extensively in creative processes, integrating architecture, urban planning, and design.
• Managed and trained new interns, enhancing onboarding efficiency.
• Key contribution to large scale Revit Projects, such as 1st place in Charitas Waterfront competition: http://www.concursocharitasniteroi.com.br/site/1
FEB 2022- JUL 2022
Architecture Design Assistant
WE Architecture (Copenhagen)
• Produced 3D models, conceptual designs, and visualizations using Rhino, Revit and Enscape.
• Collaborated on competition submissions in Denmark and Germany
• Created construction details and established processes adhering to BIM 7AA and CCS codes, ensuring compliance with local standards.
SEP 2020- FEB 2021
Architecture Consultant
Empresa Júnior (PUC-Rio de Janeiro)
• Led the design of a police station project in Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, utilizing SketchUp and VRay.
• Oversaw architecture team management and provided administrativefinancial control using tools as Excel and Asana.
Other Activities
Freelance Architecture writer ; Authored various articles for platforms such as Prumo, Unpopular Magazine, Rethinking the Future, and Vitruvius Portal in themes aligned with BIG’s vision, such as sustainable architecture and urban innovation.
Collaboration in residential project; Gávea Arquitetos, RJ, 2020; Project Management Course at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP); Fev- 2020; Workshops in humanitarian architecture and urban planning: “Mapping Time” (2020), “O que Para o Rio?” (2019).
Experience in construction sites and team management: part of NGO Teto Brasil; Assistant Teacher of Introduction to Architecture, PUC-RIO; freelance teacher.
Kastaniehaven Børnehave
2022
Proposal in a closed competition as part of a team in the Danish office WE Architecture for a daycare center southwest of Copenhagen. The project is centered on Study Modules that allow the education of children according to the award-winning Nordic Teaching and social sustainability models. These modules connect fluidly and embrace the external environment, which has the same importance as the internal spaces in the education of youngsters. Thus, houses are formed inside houses, all with natural light and a receptive environment for students, teachers, staff in general and families members. My participation in the project took place in the stages of conceptualization, 3D modeling and visualization of deliveries and final renderings using Rhinoceros/ Enscape, in collaboration with Jonas Plambeck Ottosen, the office architect whose work focused on visualizations during my internship.
Kindergarten and day care center
The kindergarten has an L-shape which “embraces” the easily accessible playground, so that it becomes protected from the outside view.
Common areas
Common areas that function as an extension of the group rooms are placed towards the playground. This allows for a view and direct integration with the playground.
From playground to common areas
The wall between the common areas and the group room is made of glass with screening, so that a direct visual axis is created from the living rooms to the playground, creating coherence and clarity.
Group rooms
The group rooms are placed so that the view is more focused on the peaceful surroundings - the area along the river and the adjacent green mass.
Wardrobes
Wardrobes are placed in pairs between the common areas, creating a hallway which is the entrance to the common area. Functionally, it’s also where parents and employees can arrive directly, without having to go through the group rooms.
Small sacle// Big scale
The large L-shape volume is then subdivided into 8 smaller houses that are displaced, creating niches. Each house receives its own roof with a skylight. The “Houses in the House” concept gives children a recognizable and safe spot within the overall complex.
Section, isometric and interior view of the central common areas of the kindergarten.
Torch Cay Island
2024-2025
The project consists of a summer house in the Torch Cay Island. A 3-wing disposition which prioritizes privacy without losing the main exterior views and thoughtful, detailed passive cooling mechanisms are its main concepts. Leading the line at this high end residential project in the Bahamas, I had the opportunity to fully develop it from early DD into final CD submission. Completely developed on Revit, this meant going from almost schematic design options to 1:1 detailing and coordination with consultants, using tools and practices such as clash detection and LOD modelling requeriments to provide a detailed yet usable 3D model. With works set to begin on the middle of the year, the project was also selected by managers and our engineering consultant to become the new reference for graphics, deliverables and modelling in the Studio Arthur Casas, as it has been rapidly growing internationally all while not having strict standards and systems set for Imperial architectural projects.
An inhabitable block arrises from the sand, paralel to the oceafront.
By sliding the block, three wings appear: Family, Social and Guest.
A stone base connects to the topography: indoor-outdoor connection as a premisse
Climate control: the air chimney above and the openings create a sustainable, passive house
Social Wing: The central wing is centered around the core social aspects of the house, such as a chef’s kitchen, living, pool and office; on the basement, a garage, gym and a pro kitchen
Guest Wing: On the left, the ground floor is dedicated to guest suites, while the basement has a wellness center, with a spa, cinema and massage room
Family Wing: The bigger lateral wing has the master and family suites, and on the basement it has broad space for technical areas and staff amenities, kitchen and living
Gramacho
2023
Academic project developed with Matheus Burity (PUC-Rio and University of Liverpool). The proposal served as an application for some competitions, especially the CBCA steel construction architecture competition in 2023. In summary, the project aims to create a holistic educational hub focused on human, economic and environmental development in Jardim Gramacho. The selected site is a highly stigmatized region due to the disabled dump site that operated there for tens of years and the overall lack of connection with the Rio de Janeiro metropolis. On the other hand, it has an advantageous position in the Guanabara Bay and Washington Luiz Highway. Therefore, in order to revitalize this region and enpower its inhabitants, a project focused on technical education and EJA model (Young Adulthood Education) was proposed. Furthermore, understanding education as a interdisciplinary tool, we defended the creation of more than just a school, rather an educational complex articulated as a public park. The project works as an ecologically and economically self-sufficient equipment centered three main blocks: the Educational Block, the Community Block and the Expositive Block.
Community The park has an emphasis on local residents, with an open terrace and a series of public sports courts, which lack in the region. They serve as a pivot and invitation to the park for all.
Electricity The educational complex has its energy needs met by the 280 550W photovoltaic panels located on its roof, making the surplus available to almost 50 local homes entirely for free. This helps solve the historical regional energy deficit.
Replanting In addition to strengthening the native mangrove, the community garden, used by the dining and the population at large, teaches the residents to care and cultivate for the environment.
Rain Water 100mm water collectorsin the central HCS pillars and the recessed shape of the square/amphitheater are used to collect rain in the lake of the Educational Block. It is then filtered and used by the complex and by nearby residences.
Legend
Recycling In the Mangrove Teaching Center and the Museum, as well as in the roof of the Amphitheater, compressed plates of the plastic removed from the reamaining dump ground are used. The process as part of Architecture. Sanitation a Living Machine and evapotranspiration pond manage the waste of the Park. An annexed French Wetland then cleans the sewage of 10% of the whole Jardim Gramacho community, between four and five thousand people.
1. Main Teaching Complex 2. Jardim Gramacho Museum 3. Public Amphitheatre 4. Mangrove Teaching and Strengthening Center 5. Jardim Gramacho Bus Terminal 6. Support and operation 7. Bike Racks 8. Public sports fields 9. Local sales kiosks 10. Public academies 11. Children’s playground 12. French Wetland- 1st Phase 13. French Wetland- 2nd Phase 14. Community Garden 15. Sewage System- Living Machine 16. Evapotranspiration Beds 17. Strengthening of the native mangrove -emphasis on the riparian zone of the Environmental Protection Area and Sarapuí river 18. Service route 19. Floodable Public Square
Rigid Permeable Core
8 interconnected cylindrical pillars rise. From them the structure of the side blocks arises. Under the central block, minimal groundwork allows for the creation of the undergrounds and a public square that connects the project as a whole.
Cabled connection
The trusses and rigid pillars of the side blocks connect and support each other by means of tensile tie rods, creating a system that’s only possible by the use of metal structures.
The floating box
Between them, the library is fixed as a rigid cage of Vierendeel beams that guide the internal program.
Flexible Floor Plans
From these pillars, Joist trusses form a cage-like system of meshes that allows the floors to have free and varied programs and meet the varied needs of the school.
Possibilities of use
The Joist system allows the use of self-supporting elements, such as the auditorium that spreads through different levels without compromising the primary structure.
Legend
1. Modular male-female steel frame 2. 7x19 steel cables with Ø =60mm in antifire 316 stainless steel 3. perforated plate in Corten SAC 350 4. solar plate 5. pinned rope strecther 6. galvanized metal flashing 7. Joist steel trusss with circular profile 8. installations and luminothechnical 9. support for V frame in ASTM 360 with automotive painting 10. Steel Joist truss with circular profile 11. automatic venetian blackout embedded in the metal flashing of the frame 12. Aluminum frame with automotive painting for window 13. 3mm glass sheet with rock wool insulation 14. Aluminum frame with automotive painting for fixed window 15. Steel deck with thermoacoustic ipermeabilization in EPS 16. Aluminum frame with automotive painting for mechanized sliding door with sensor and maintenance access 17. 6mm glass sheet sandwich with rock wool 18. finished floor- ground level 19. drainage channel built under finished floor 20. reinforcement in Y-12 steel bar 21. lining in plasterboard with cutout 22. reinforced concrete retaining wall 23. masonry wall- 15cm 24. asphalt insulation sheet 25. masonry wall- 10cm with finishing 26. floor and countertop in reinforced concrete with screening of fck=20MPa with asphalt blanket
General sections and rendered views with emphasis on the ‘floating box’: the central library
Sugar Loaf Mountain Park
2022-2024
The Índio da Costa office was chosen to renovate the Sugar Loaf Mountain Park, one of the biggest postcards in Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro, second only to the Christ the Redeemer. With around a million visitors per year, the team was divided into four to better approach the large scale project: one for each of the three stations, and one for developing a new zipline project. I was assigned to provide support at the Praia Vermelha station, the lowest and largest one in the complex. I was responsible for the construction details and development of parametric families in Revit, with an emphasis on window and door frames and safety measures acc. to local guidelines, in addition to fully leading the representation and visualization aspect of the project. The renderings were done using D5 Render. Currently, the Praia Vermelha station project is approved and waiting for clearance to start construction. Today, work has already begun on the first phase of the project, the zip line.
The existing volume today is made up of disconnected blocks that have been built over the last century, without a unified language, circulation, or even accessibility concerns.
Formal party: to understand the need for cohesion in the volume, most of all in the façades. We saw the roof as a main priority, since it’s the main façade for those arriving by and leaving from the cable car.
Functional party: to create circulation axes that serve the multiple uses of the Sugar Loaf Park which are intertwined with new options of entertainment, restaurants and commerce.
The final volume is the result of a series of additions over the voids of the current construction. It becomes a functional and multiple project for the 1 million visitors who pass through it annually.
Examples of technical building sections sent to and approved by the client
Charitas Waterfront
2021-2023
Part of the Índio da Costa A.U.D.T office team which won first place in the Competition held by the City of Niterói, IAB and IUA for the urban requalification of the Charitas waterfront. Participation in the competition proposal and in the subsequent project development and detailing which was delivered to the city hall. Currently approved and waiting on works to begin, the project followed the ethos of the acclaimed Balneário Camboriú Waterfront project, which I also took part in, seeking to create a new landscape that combines the natural beauty of the coast with an intelligent solution for the overdesigned and carbased local road context. Based on these two conceptual pillars, new and qualified spaces are created in old urban voids, enabling the formation of a waterfront park that adds to Niterói’s sociocultural scene. Above all, on a local scale, the new beachfront will now create democratic space those who use the beach, be they visitors, residents close to the richer São Francisco beach or the poorer Preventório Community.
Competition Presentation available in Portuguese: http://www.concursocharitasniteroi. com.br/site/concurso-022021/pages/11
The Rádio Amador Square becomes a flexible epicenter for the community.
The car lane reduction allows the creation of a new town park focused on sports which welcomes the local community and integrates the whole of Niterói.
7-
8-
Kiosks
Sports Courts
Playground
Gym
Car Park
DogPark
Community Garden
Promenade Square
Bus Terminal Station
