New Leme Gallery

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

NEW LEME GALLERY

Metro Arquitetos Associados + Paulo Mendes da Rocha

ARCHITECTS
Metro Arquitetos Associados, Paulo Mendes da Rocha

ELECTRICAL
PHE Projetos Hidráulicos E Elétricos Ltda

COLLABORATORS
Alfonso Simelio, Antonia Peña, Bruno Kim, Filipe Barrocas, Isadora Marchi, Luis Tavares, Marina Ioshii, Pedro Mesquita

MANUFACTURERS
Reka Iluminação, Camargo e Silva, Tuper S/A, Fuminas

STRUCTURE
Cia. de Projetos – Heloísa Maringoni

CONSTRUCTION
SM3

ELECTRIC
PHE

ILLUMINATION
Ricardo Heder

PHOTOGRAPHS
Leonardo Finotti

AREA
554.47 m²

YEAR
2012

LOCATION
São Paulo, Brazil

CATEGORY
Gallery

Text description provided by architect.

The new leme gallery was built in 2011 two blocks away from the original one. It is a reconstruction of the first building designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Metro architects, demolished by the end of 2011.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

Beyond the reproduction of the original project, it was added a new building, a cube of 9x9 meters wide, connected to the main building by a footbridge on the upper floor.

This new set of buildings is a result of the negotiation of the owner of the gallery with a big construction company who bought the whole block in which the old gallery was located to construct a commercial enterprise. This is part of the process of fast urban transformation, typical of the city of Sao Paulo.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

From many options, it was decided that the best solution was to remake the same project.

Besides being a strong characteristic of the gallery, the idea of keeping the building as it was before was an opportunity to put up for discussion the ideas of preservation of the architectural patrimony, the prevalence of the project over the constructed object and to create a possibility of an unexpected spatial experience:

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

considering that the demolishment took place after the conclusion of the new building, it was possible to visit both galleries, one after the other only two blocks apart.

Having in mind that both buildings were so characteristic in their physical attributes, a curious deja-vu effect naturally happened.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

Both main and support buildings are entirely built of reinforced concrete.

The goal was to keep the same formal and material fundaments of the original project by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, including in the connecting bridge, as if it was a continuation, a growth from the original volume.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

The support building shelters a big collection on the upper pavement and a new exhibition room on the ground level.

Through the bridge and the open patio, the connection between the added spaces and the spaces that already existed in the original design becames very fluid.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti

This patio, which resulted from the decision of making the added spaces as a distinct body from the original one is actually an important place of articulation and proves the richness of the idea of the support building as a type, even if not created later, as an addition.

The support areas are all concentrated in a side strip, making the distribution of electrical and hydraulic installations easier.

New Leme Gallery
© Leonardo Finotti
New Leme Gallery

The administrative areas have skylight and windows and are located over the exhibition rooms, which have between six and nine meters tall, also with zenithal illumination.

The building is closed with big steel doors and glass.


New Leme Gallery
Ground Floor Plan
New Leme Gallery
1st Floor Plan
New Leme Gallery
2nd Floor Plan
New Leme Gallery
Roof Plan


New Leme Gallery
Section 1
New Leme Gallery
Section 2
New Leme Gallery
Sections 3


New Leme Gallery
Elevation1
New Leme Gallery
Elevations 2
New Leme Gallery
Elevation 3


New Leme Gallery
Detail
New Leme Gallery
Detail
New Leme Gallery
Detail


New Leme Gallery
Structure Detail
New Leme Gallery
Site Plan