Victor Citiva Plaza

Built on a recently deactivated garbage collection and incinerator site, the Victor Civita Plaza & Museum for Sustainability reinvigorated the 130,000 sq. ft. site in central São Paulo. Like many postindustrial urban sites, the desire for open public space and the need to re-mediate the contaminated site required a unique solution. The plaza and museum compound was created by elevating a steel and hardwood deck above the existing grade level. The deck wraps and folds to create pockets of defined space, essentially urban rooms. Throughout the plaza information panels are placed in strategic locations to introduce the many sustainable features of the project, including recycled Brazilian hardwood, water retention systems, and soil purification. Working under the direction of Anna Dietzsch and Adriana Levisky, my role in the project ranged from producing 3-D models and renderings to producing construction drawings. Construction was completed on the plaza in the fall of 2008 to a very enthusiastic welcome, and the project has subsequently been published in Metropolis, Projeto Design, and Landscape Design, among others. The project was also awarded the Urban Design Prize by the Institute of Brazilian Architects and the Public Work category by the VII Corporate Architect Prize