bloco arquitetos: clubhouse in brasília

brazil-based bloco arquitetos has completed ‘clubhouse alphaville brasília’ located in the lower area of a residential condominium in the outskirts of brasília, brazil. the building is approximately 1214 sqm on the ground floor level and is surrounded by native vegetation, cattle farms and hills. the structure also houses a restaurant, administration office, outdoor sports facilities and services. the main goal of the project was to make the building look almost invisible and blend with the landscape for those in the surrounding houses looking onto the residence.

the main entrance of the clubhouse, restaurant, swimming pools and other indoor areas are all located on the same level and are connected by ramps to the open air sports facilities, providing easy access to all its users. the building consists of a central space and two ‘wings’ with lower ceilings perpendicular to it. the central space is covered by a rectangular concrete structure that supports a green roof. the upper floor is aligned to the lower street of the condominium, integrating its green roof to landscape that’s visible from the residences.

all images by haruo mikami, courtesy of bloco arquitetos

a suspended staircase leads to the green roof from the ground floor, providing an alternative access from the clubhouse to the inner part of the complex. the roof structure has two lower wings with exposed concrete finishings and are covered by local type gravel. the roof slabs in relation to the residence make the clubhouse less visible and are disguised as part of the landscape. its visual presence is reinforced by the water tower that rises above the green roof. the main entrance of the clubhouse, the restaurant, kitchen and bar of the swimming pool are located under the roof of the central space. the area was created with the intention of leaving it as transparent as possible, visually integrating the parking space and the front facade of the building to the swimming pools, sports facilities and inner courtyards.

pivoting doors

the large green roof over the central space is punctured by openings of different sizes. sometimes these openings are covered by tainted glass, bringing natural light into the interiors. other times they are completely open, bringing rain and natural light to the vegetation of gardens within the clubhouse. the two lower wings of the building cover a space for events, a second kitchen, a sauna, dressing rooms and fitness room. pivoting doors define the boundary of the restaurant and space for events. the form of the structure configures a central space where the swimming pools are located.

a ramp connects this area to the open air sports facilities, which were placed in different levels, following the existing topography as much as possible. the different levels between the sports facilities were used to place the stands. the parking of the clubhouse was designed as to preserve a large area of existing canebrake. it was placed in the same level as the main entrance to the building, promoting easy access to it. the landscape design proposed the creation of light steel structures with cables that will serve as support for vegetation to grow and create shadows over the parking spaces. similar structures for vegetation were placed beside the suspended stairs and at the entrance building of the condominium.

entrance with suspended stairs

suspended stairs

entrance voids

view towards entrance

restaurant

swimming pools

night view

night view of entrance

view from the houses in the condominium

project info:

project name: alphaville brasília clubhouse – phase 1
location: brasília, df, brasil
project: 2009
construction: 2011
area: 27.585m2
built area: 1.214sqm (building) + 9.420sqm (sports facilities, swimming pools and parking)
architecture: bloco arquitetos – henrique coutinho, daniel mangabeira e matheus seco (authors), débora valença, rodrigo scheel e daniella rauber (co-authors),
guilherme mahana and tatiana lopes
landscape designer: renata tilli
light designer: bia toledo
structural engeneering: k projetos – eng. kassio henrique
installations: k projetos – eng. kassio henrique
contractor: engea engenharia
photos: haruo mikami
suppliers: concrecon (concrete), bysilva (wooden pivoting doors, wood cladding), são geraldo (flooring and cladding ) and imper cia (impermeabilização)

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