Pampulha Complex
BELO HORIZONTE – MINAS GERAIS
Restructuring an icon in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is one of the great Brazilian urban centers, easily accessible and in a strategic position on the country’s geopolitical maps. Founded in 1897, the city was built in a planned way. The Pampulha dam was built between 1936 and 1937 to supply water to the region, and a Pampulha leisure and tourism complex was implemented there a decade later.
With the objective of building an image of a modern and innovative metropolis, the complex had works by architect Oscar Niemeyer, Roberto Burle Marx and great plastic artists such as Portinari, Ceschiatti, José Pedrosa, among others. Several buildings and public facilities were implemented in the complex, maintaining its destination until today, focused on culture and leisure. The Pampulha Architectural Complex was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2016.
This work was developed within the scope of the Expression of Interest Procedure (PMI) and includes an analysis of the Pampulha region to develop a vision of the future, program of uses, zoning and masterplan for the different areas of visitation of the complex, identifying opportunities and new dynamics that enhance its attractiveness and structure strategies for the management of its equipment and services.
The distance between the center of Belo Horizonte and the Complex is approximately 10 km. The region includes key equipment for the city such as Lagoa da Pampulha, the Airport, the Mineirão Stadium, the UFMG Campus, the Zoo-Botany Foundation, the Ecological Park and the Veredas Park.
Currently, Lagoa is the protagonist of the complex and the attractions are concentrated in its surroundings. There is potential to diversify the attractions and activities in the surroundings and the region can become the main public space in the city, attracting even visitors from its surroundings.
Two visitation macro-areas were identified to direct the development of the diagnosis and proposals.
The Lagoa Nucleus encompasses the attractions linked to it. The Parks Center comprises the park system to the southwest. An extensive diagnosis made it possible to analyze the main constraints of each nucleus, its relationship with the immediate surroundings, existing infrastructure, the identification of stakeholder needs, among other aspects.
The proposal aims to strengthen the Lagoon as a public space, emphasizing it as a landscape and tourist resource, through the implementation of new programs and uses, such as activation related to river transportation / promenade and the creation of a river route that better connects the visitors with the waters, either through new spaces of contemplation such as lookouts and decks, or by support equipment on the shore or even floating.
A fluvial connection between the BRT Pampulha station, the Architectural Complex and the Ecological Park is proposed. A tourist bus line is planned at the perimeter of Lagoa, connecting all points of interest, including the parks. The two proposed transport systems connect via interconnection stations.
Seeking to reframe and strengthen the relevance of zoos as fundamental spaces to promote the conservation and preservation of species, the proposal starts from contemporary references of zoos around the world, proposing a plural equipment – the Zoobotanical Park – with improvements in facilities and new visitors dynamics, incorporating the Botanical Garden and other attractions, such as the Aquarium, as part of an integrated visitor experience based on environmental education and awareness tools.
The set of parks has a potential connection with the Zoo botanical Park. Veredas Park remains an area of environmental conservation, enabling this future connection. The Ecological Park receives a service program aiming at its configuration as an urban park, distributed according to the zoning identified among the area for events, recreation, leisure and contemplation; memorial; sports; gastronomy; and other services, such as administration, reception and parking.
