University Of São Caetano Do Sul – Campus Barcelona

SÃO CAETANO DO SUL – SÃO PAULO

University as an equipment for the city

The need to expand the Barcelona Campus comes from the Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul, in 2015, aiming at a better functioning and service, not only to the academic community, but also to the entire population that already uses or may use the campus.

The project was part of the studies developed under the Expression of Interest Procedure (PMI) launched by the higher education institution itself.

The Barcelona Campus has an area of more than 25 thousand ^m2. Since it has a free area, with the presence of small buildings that must be demolished and their uses reallocated, it is a favorable situation for the implantation and construction of a new building.

Comprising seven distinct buildings, the campus is currently fragmented. Note the absence of an architectural identity between the buildings and in relation to the urban context. The campus is walled and has no connection with its immediate surroundings, which can be contradictory in terms of security and commercial exploitation of the building.

The expansion of the campus has the function not only of hosting new uses, but also of incorporating a new visual identity to the place, promoting greater integration with its immediate surroundings, visual permeability and fruition of the public space. Two blocks, that will add uses of similar characteristics and that respond to the needs of restricting or not the public, are proposed. The ground floor for public use, like an open gallery, consolidates an axis of passage along the narrowest portion of the land, creating a connection between the city and the campus.

As the land is longilinear and has an “L” shape, a linear volumetry in the narrowest part and a denser volumetry in the widest part are proposed, which shelters the uses that demand large spans and / or allow greater flexibility of plant, such as theater and library, which can eventually be accessed by the general public. What resulted from volumetric studies and distribution of the program in the field, were the conjunction between the analysis of urban parameters, definition of the program needs and measurement.

Public use on the ground floor, with the possibility of commercial exploitation. The first and second floors are only for the university and library internal use, with semi-public features and great access to the public. The building houses both internal and academic uses.