Project 1 - Womans World

LINA BO BARDI - SESC POMPEIA FACTORY

Figure 1: Lina Bo Bardi

PROJECT INTRODUCTION:

This case study looked at Lina Bo Bardi’s designed building the Sesc Pompeia Factory. Within the project as a group we researched certain categories to understand the building better. Categories such as Concept, Context, Circulation,

Spatial Organization, Materiality, Construction, Facades and Fenestration.

The categories were sub divided between the group, to ensure each group member contributed. All images drawn by seperate group members are labelled.

Project Roles:

1. Kendall Gow - Lina Bo Bardi History, context and circulation 2. Claudia Glashoff, Concept, spatial Organization, composition of final report/presentation. 3. Stefan van Heerden - Materiality and construction, gathering and distribution of book sources from the Architecture Library (JM), modeling SESC pompeia in Revit 2021. (Drawings on Page 8 - 10) It was interesting to do the research for this project, and to see how Lina applied her design thinking to this building that was a renovation of old warehouses. Even if it is not the most beautiful building in the world, but it is contextually appropriate for Sao Paulo(A sad city).

I think drawing the building in 3D helped me to understand how it was put together and how these complex spaces relate to each other. Seeing how all the different category came together helped me to understand the building more collectively than just the materiality or Bibliography:

Lina Bo Bardi was a prolific architect and designer who devoted her working life to promoting the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. Lina Bo Bardi associated the practice of architecture with everyday culture and its experience with the theatre of life.

SESC (Social Service of Commerce) was founded in 1940 as private houses and in 1986 they moved into the ‘Pompeia Leisure Centre’ (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). The ‘SESC Pompeia Leisure Centre’ focused on creating a place of conviviality and shared happiness amongst the members of the SESC (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). Lina Bo Bardi spent a lot of time and attention on helping the humble employee or inhabitants of the working-class district and so was excited to be a part of the project (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016).

The building was to function as a leisure centre for the use of commercial sector employees at which it would provide members with healthcare, cultural and sporting facilities. The centre was to be an “emblem, without erasing the history of the workplace in the heart of the metropolis” and so the original barrel factory was transformed into a leisure centre full of life and joy (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016).

The original factory was planned to go under with minor renovations which was revolutionary, as industrial architectural heritage did not exist in Brazil at this time (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). Surrounding buildings were designed to hug the ‘Cultural Centre’ and hence the Sports Complex was created.

CONTEXT:

One of Lina Bo Bardi’s main considerations during the design process was to create a bold building that both respected and celebrated its surrounding context whilst simultaneously fitting in with the architectural language that brings the city to life.

The addition of the sports complex contributed to the already impressive city skyline to make one of a striking nature.

Although the height of the sports complex contrasts that of the preexisting factory, it speaks to many of the surrounding buildings and creates an interesting height variation throughout the surrounding context (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016).

Figure 4: ‘SESC Pompeia Centre’ in its opening years (Camacho, 2020)

When Lina Bo Bardi was originally tasked with designing the Leisure Centre, the factory was a preexisting structure. She chose to design an additional three masses which dramatically contrasted the horizontality of the old factory, creating an “image of a citadel facing the city” (Bardi, 1977). Lina Bo Bardi’s design concept originally included the addition of a single, much larger structure for the sports complex, but due to the presence of a canal through the site, she was forced to reimagine her original design (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). This resulted in the building form splitting apart across the canal.

Although originally a cause for frustration for Lina Bo Bardi, this necessary shift in the conceptual design led to the creation of the iconic gangways connecting the buildings across the canal. This addition has become one of the buildings most identifiable features and that is, because of these sculptural and architectural innovations, the building receives its many and increasing tourists yearly.

Lina Bo Bardi is well known for her creation of intentional and intriguing spaces that integrate with each other seamlessly. It is because of this talent that the circulation in the building works so effortlessly. Her circulation flows from open, interactional spaces to grand exterior bridge like corridors and everything in between.

The horizontal and vertical circulation within both structures is a combination of common circulation techniques and a series of unique methods. Lina Bo Bardi, however, found a way to make circulation spaces that are known for their mundane nature into an experience of some kind.

In the sports complex, the traditional emergency vertical circulation was designed to protrude off both structures. Except for the emergency stairwells, the only other way into the sports complex is via the gangways. The lift system in the smaller structure allows ease of access to higher levels in order to navigate the structures easily.

The presence of these gangways, however, introduces an interesting and playful form of horizontal circulation between the buildings, across the canal. The circulation in the factory consists of a main entrance into the building complex which contains four multi-functional buildings with their own individual entrances.

Within these individual buildings, a mostly open plan approach was taken to allow for freedom of horizontal circulation within the spaces. This will be discussed in more detail below. Page 4

Figure 6: Conceptual drawing showing movement in the design (Bardi, 1977)

The theme of movement is highly distinguishable in the building. Lina Bo Bardi designed spaces that interconnect and unite resulting in an ambience of conviviality that is carried throughout the design.

Clearly depicted in the illustration above, movement was a theme that Lina Bo Bardi had contemplated from the very beginning of the conceptual development stage. The drawing expresses a chaotic yet lively sense of permanent flow throughout the design that has now been established in the existing building.

The substantial consideration of movement is particularly evident in the Cultural Centre’s Library Workshop as well as the gangways that connect the SESC Pompeia Sports Centre with the Sports Ancillary building. Lina Bo Bardi utilized the factories original structural grid to organize the different activities within the ‘SESC Pompeia Cultural Centre’ (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 196). The largest factory workshop has been split into two principal uses, namely the ‘Library Workshop’ and the ‘Theatre Workshop’. The Library Workshop consists of five structural spans that have been divided to enable users the opportunity to choose from different activities and levels of privacy (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 124).

The first span is used as an exhibition space (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 202). This exhibition space makes use of temporarily constructed box’s that is separate from the old factories structure and thus can be removed at any time (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 202).

Considering the exhibition boxes are stand alone elements, Lina Bo Bardi showcases a respect between the original structure’s walls, columns, and ceilings and the current ‘SESC Pompeia Leisure Centre’.

Figure 7: Interior perspective of half-height terraces and the individual staircase (Drawn by Glashoff, 2021) The following two spans function as the library space (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 202). Lina Bo Bardi employed a technique at which height is used as a tool to generate more intimate spaces at which different activities can take place. The different levels have been created by constructing a cube like half height terrace as well as a mezzanine level.

The cube-like forms use parapets to entirely separate the public spaces available on the ground floor from the more intimate spaces on the half height terrace and mezzanine level. To circulate through the different library levels, Lina Bo Bardi has created numerous independent staircases that encourage easy movement from space to space. The last two spans within the ‘Library Workshop’ operates as a “User-Friendly Area” (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 202). This space consists of a captivating stream that punctuates the space as it flows down the room, leaving meanders and bends behind in its path. Along the curves of the stream, Lina Bo Bardi has furnished the space with armchairs she had designed herself.

The chairs were designed in such a way where it can be placed in different modular arrangements dependent on the users needs at the time. The curves along the stream together with the chairs create agreeable areas where users are encouraged to “converse, daydream or rest” (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016).

In addition, the stream serves as a metaphorical representation of the theme of movement that is an essential within the building. The ‘Theatre Workshop’ consists of two structural spans (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 204). The one span functions as the entrance to the theatre, whilst the other is the theatre itself. In the theatre, she has utilized the longitudinal layout of the original workshop to create a traverse theatre where half the audience faces each-other maintaining the theme of conviviality within the building.

The ‘SESC Pompeia Sports Complex’ continues the theme of movement and conviviality throughout the design however with its brutal characteristics it creates a much more powerful atmosphere within all the different spaces.

The grandeur scale of the Sports Complex makes a move on the scale of the city, contrary to the minimal changes of the factory.

Figure 9: Exterior perspective of ‘SESC Pompeia Sport Complex’ from gangway (Drawn by Glashoff, 2021) Page 6

Figure 10: Interior perspective ‘Autumn’ court within ‘SESC Pompeia Sport Complex’ (Drawn by Glashoff, 2021) Each floor within the ‘Sports Complex’ is open plan with no structure interfering in the space (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 210). This allowed for full sized sporting facilities such as a swimming pool, a gym, a football pitch and various courts (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 210). Lina Bo Bardi was particular with symbolism and it manifested into the ‘Sports Complex’ design with her colour coded sporting courts.

She didn’t want people to “suggest a meeting on the fourth floor”, instead she preferred that users should “find each other on Autumn or Winter” and so each floor has been colour coded relating to a season, providing each space its own identity (Monografías, 2015, p. 88).

The SESC Pompeia material pallet is rough and brutal in its appearance. Most of the materials from the original factory workshops were preserved, such as the face brick walls, the timber roof structure and concrete columns. Lina Bo Bardi wanted to keep the old factory buildings as they were.

In her own words Lina Bo Bardi emphasized how “the priority, therefore, was to maintain and promote this vital activity, without demolishing the existing structures, designed by the French François Hennebique, one of the pioneers in the use of reinforced concrete” (Monografías, 2015).

Lina Bo Bardi has made us of concrete to express the buildings brutalist concept. “She quite explicitly decided to use exposed concrete, whose rough quality supports the impression of [poor architecture], which she herself even described as ugly” (Lepik, 2014, p. 267). She made these design decisions to portray São Paulo as a sad city.

The sports complex and the circulation tower were new additions to the existing site. They were constructed out of reinforced concrete. As seen in the photograph above, when the formwork was removed, it creates a concrete off-shutter facade which radiates the architectural aesthetic that flows throughout Lina Bo Bardi’s design.

Figure 11: Concrete water tower (Selby, 2016)

Figure 12: Concrete columns on interior of old workshops (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 129) Clearly depicted in ‘figure 20’ above, the water tower has an intentional ruffled concrete finish and was built out of cylindrical concrete sections. Lina Bo Bardi rejected the idea of applying a finishing to the tower, instead the traces of poured concrete were preserved leaving the raw and unfinished aesthetic that Lina Bo Bardi wanted to manifest throughout the design.

The concrete columns in the workshops as seen in ‘figure ?’ above, utilize a tapered design. This technique makes the columns look like they are spanning higher than they are and in consequence creates an effect where the spaces within the workshops, feel larger and more open.

Figure 13: Exterior of circulation tower (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 121) Page 8

The axonometric diagram above presents the original timber truss system and concrete beam and column structure used within the roof of the original factory. Lina Bo Bardi chose to strip back the unnecessary partition walls within the structure and expose the bare structure which completely opens up the spaces and continues the crucial theme of permanent flow throughout the design.

The original finishing of the interior wall was removed resulting in the face brick being exposed on the interior and exterior wall. This aesthetic serves as a symbol to relate the ‘Cultural Centre’ back to its original use as a working factory.

Figure 14: Construction methods of workshop spaces (Drawn by van Heerden, 2021)

Figure 15: Construction of the circulation and water tower (Drawn by van Heerden, 2021)

The gangways utilize strong and rigid angles that differ as you travel up the building. As a result, from below, the ramps form a stark silhouette against the sky, conforming with the brutalist nature of the building.

Figure 16: Construction of the circulation and water tower (Drawn by van Heerden, 2021) Page 9

Figure 17: Construction of the sports complex windows (Drawn by van Heerden, 2021) The axonometric diagram on the previous page explains the construction of the ‘Sports Complex’. The sports complex was intended to be supported without a column grid system. This creates an unobscured space for sports activities on the interior. This has been achieved by the beam system spanning in two ways, supporting the suspended floor slabs above.

Lastly the window openings have an organic shape. The manner at which Lina Bo Bardi achieved this sculptural void was to place a polystyrene plug within the reinforced concrete wall before the concrete was poured. When the concrete dried, the polystyrene plug was removed to create the organic void.

Figure 18: East facade of the ‘SESC Pompeia Leisure Centre’ (Drawn by van Staden, 2021)

Figure 19: Detailed east façade of the ‘Cultural Centre’ workshops (Drawn by van Staden, 2021) Lina Bo Bardi recycled the structure and the facades from the old industrial factory. She decided to preserve the historic nature of the original building and renovate it based on her love for nineteenth century industrial architecture (de Oliveira, 2014, p. 267). The concrete frame structure marks out the windows, doors, and the ridge of the roof. The gaps in the structure are filled with exposed brickwork or glass. These elements, along with the asymmetric roofs, promotes a pleasing and uniform aesthetic to the exterior of the building.

Lina Bo Bardi expressed how she wanted the concrete towers of the ‘Sports Complex’ to appear as “three brutal buildings in the middle of [a] concrete jungle” (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). She succeeded in this by using an exposed concrete finish for all three towers of which gives off no idea as to what the interior function of the building truly is and so it becomes “a ray of sunshine in an over-populated city” (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016)

The ramps become a prominent feature of the building as the massive volumes creates an impressive accumulation of visual effect (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016). The size of the ramps along with the connection to each building displays an extraordinarily strong bonding relationship between the two buildings.

Figure 20: Façade materiality of the ‘Sports Complex’ (Drawn by van Staden, 2021) Figure 21: ‘Sports Complex’ circulation gangways (Drawn by van Staden, 2021)

Perfect square windows are organised somewhat ‘randomly’ and ‘unaligned’ within the ‘Sports Complex Ancillary Building’ to a create blunt visual impression onto its users. These “out of the box” windows completely differ from the ‘pre-historic ([holed windows])” that accompany the ‘Sports Complex”.

Figure 23: ’Pre-historic’ windows on the ‘Sports Complex’ (Drawn by van Staden, 2021) Figure 22: Hand drawing of ‘Sport Complex Ancillary Building’ windows (Drawn by van Staden, 2021)

The ‘Sports Complex’ utilizes strangely shaped windows that attract your attention as you approach the building. These windows are placed on a vertical grid format of which occupies the entire facade of the building.

The ‘pre-historic holes’ are paired with timber trellis’ that allows for an increase in air flow and ventilation through the space as well as preventing the glare of any harsh sunlight. These timber trellis’ are also effective in keeping the sports arena balls inside and not flying out through the holes (Khu SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi, 2016).

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