Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Photos by Gabriel Castro
2006-2013 _ Cafe-plaza
The building designed to house a new cafe for the Museum and the Public Archives of Minas Gerais starts with the judicious use of the free space between the two buildings which are important architectural examples built by the Building Committee of the new capital at the end of the 19th century. The complex’s initial purpose was to house the Senate and the Finance Minister’s residence.
With the intention of preserving the free area between the two buildings, the cafe is partially underground. The concrete slab over the new space configure a grassy square that best integrates existing buildings both visually and functionally, providing better mutual access and flows between the floors leveled by this re-designing of the public space.
A new concrete block, with the function of vertical circulation and access to the superintendent of Museums building, completes the harmonious architectural composition around the square.
