Fernando Maculan
is an architect graduated in 1997 from the School of Architecture at UFMG. His professional career began with AUA, as founding partner (1998-2003). He worked in Hayano Gumi architecture office in Tokyo (2004-2005) and was director of the project Designing Across Boundaries in London, with the designers Paula Dib and Renata Mendes (2007-2008). He is a founding partner of Molmaculan Design with Adriano Mol (since 2003), a member of the Piracema Design Lab (since 2006), collaborator of the Grupo Corpo Dance Company (since 2008), and associate architect of BCMF Architects (since 2011). He is co-founder and co-editor of the Architecture and Urbanism Magazine – MDC (2005-2008) and curator of the Coarquitetura project, which includes the works of his students from EAUFMG (2010). Maculan received awards in Brazil, Belgium and China, and had exposed projects in Brazil, Mexico, Germany, UK, Italy, South Korea and Japan.
Mariza Machado Coelho
architect graduated from the School of Architecture at UFMG, founded A&M architecture office with architect Álvaro Hardy in 1990. Her projects in Belo Horizonte include urban interventions such as Pampulha’s lake edge revitalization and Pampulha Ecological Park; Carijós Street, Rio Branco and Carlos Chagas squares; interventions in institutional buildings such as the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais, the Casa do Baile at Pampulha (in partnership with the architect Oscar Niemeyer) and the Palace of Arts; museums as Abilio Barreto Historical Museum; institutional buildings such as the Memorial of Japanese Immigration, in Pampulha. Publications of her work include the magazines Módulo, AU-Architecture and Urbanism, L’Architecture D’aujourd hui, Summa and books like Architectures in Brazil in the 80’s and Architects from Brazil – 1995. Received awards as the Honorable Mention in the 9th IAB Award with the Cine Brasil project; 1st place in the 8th IAB-MG Award with the project for Abilio Barreto Historical Museum; the Centennial Medal of BH; 1st place in the National Competition for the Restructuring project of the Rio Branco square; Diploma of Merit by the City of Belo Horizonte. In 2005 joined the architect Fernando Maculan and founded the MACh Architects.
Design field
MACh’s design field is very broad, and covers residential, institutional, sports and urban projects, besides interventions in the cultural heritage. Culture has been, in recent years, the area that meets the most numerous accomplishments of the office such as exhibition design, scenery, museums and galleries, artistic groups’ headquarters and cultural institutions projects.
Philosophy
At MACh, we absorb diversity as raw material for design practice and the conception of our works.
The founding members of MACh, Fernando Maculan and Mariza Machado Coelho, share complementary professional experiences, views and commitments, making the office a powerful result of a fusion of identities.
We consider complexity and variation as the most challenging and delightful resource of our work. Working with different people, and for different people; dealing with changing subjects, in distinct places; adapting materials, tools and techniques; understanding traditions, behaviors and identifying expectations for the future. We believe that all this richness of possibilities can originate a profusion of forms that should reveal as much about the users as about the authors.
One can, however, recognize common denominators in our projects: the search for formal synthesis that more directly express the initial concepts; the appropriation of the external environment and landscape as an extension of the building; the enhancement of permeability in architecture, with equal emphasis to the voids.
Other very important aspect in our practice is collaboration. We discovered very early that the best way to keep studying while working is to be involved in multidisciplinary projects. We also believe that a fluid communication between people from the various disciplines involved is a must if you mean to reach negotiated projects, especially in Brazil, where the cultural and social realities are so diverse, and the demands for a design solution are increasingly complex. Our commitment is more and more related to the overall process around the theme we are thinking about.
About the group
We work in an environment that enables innovation through the collaboration of four unique companies with different but related approaches, who are friends and frequent partners: MACh Arquitetos, BCMF, Hardy Design and Vazio S/A. We manage to work collaboratively on urban and architectural projects of various scales and complexities, functioning as a hub of creative companies with different expertises, sharing knowledge and resources as a multidisciplinary team of around 30 highly qualified professionals.
Team
Marcela Rosemburg
Mateus Lira
Pablo González
Ricardo Lobato