São Paulo welcomes its latest cultural addition in the shape of SESC Avenida Paulista

Brazil’s SESCs (Serviço Social do Comércio) have been a long-standing tradition in the country's cultural history, ever since their invention in the 1940s. Key outposts have been designed by acclaimed architects, such as Lina Bo Bardi (her SESC Pompeia is as iconic as they get) and Oscar Niemeyer (his SESC Copacabana was completed in 1982). Now, São Paulo-based Königsberger Vannucchi has designed the typology’s latest addition; a multi-functional tower on the Brazilian metropolis’ Avenida Paulista.
Founded and run by private businesses, the Social Service of Commerce – SESC – is a unique set-up that looks after the welfare and quality of life of workers within the sectors of goods, tourism and services, promoting cultural education and health. So, SESC Avenida Paulista underlines the famous São Paulo stretch’s growing cultural output, joining Andrade Morettin Arquiteto’ Instituto Moreira Salles, Kengo Kuma and FGMF’s Japan House, and Lina Bo Bardi’s MASP, all of which are located a stone's throw away.
SESC Avenida Paulista is the famous Brazilian avenue's latest cultural addition. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
When it comes to Königsberger Vannucchi’s building, the glass-clad volume was designed to be assertive, yet welcoming and approachable. The architects opted for as much visual transparency as possible, its façade revealing the various activities taking place inside.
‘The configuration of the east and west facades, with horizontal features, allows users a new look at the city while breaking with the typical typology of Paulista Avenue office buildings, announcing a new use of the old building (designed by Sérgio Pileggi and Euclides de Oliveira in the 1970s), divided between SESC and Fecomércio, and a new and democratic audience’, says project lead Gianfranco Vannucchi.
The tall building accommodates a variety of service areas, from a café, library, and children's room, to technology, arts and sports halls, exhibition space, shop and a dentist, across some 17 floors. Encouraging interaction between uses, while maintaining noise levels and public access to appropriate levels for each function, this new SESC brings Avenida Paulista one step further in its journey from corporate and financial hub to a budding cultural district.
Th high rise building contains a variety of services and flexible spaces for cultural, health and educational use. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
A highly sculptural facade alternates opaque panels and fully transparent glass enclosures to enhance visual connections. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
The architects wanted the interior to be visible and welcoming. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
In a break from the other buildings on the street, the SESC offers extensive long views of the São Paulo skyline. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
The building accommodates over 17 floors a variety of service areas, from a café, library, and children’s room... Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
...to technology, arts and sports halls, exhibition space, shop and a dentist. Photography: Pedro Vannucchi
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Konigsberger Vannucchi
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
Byredo holiday collection draws inspiration from Wim Wenders and Georgia O’Keefe
Byredo’s creative image director Lucia Pica speaks to Wallpaper* in an exclusive interview, revealing her off-kilter design process
By Mary Cleary Published
-
2024 Pantone Color of the Year is looking deliciously peachy
Peach Fuzz is Pantone Color of the Year – time to refeather your nest in a comforting hue?
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Design Miami 2023 explores how design responds to the world around us
Design Miami 2023 (until 10 December), curated by Anna Carnick, is guided by the theme of ‘Where We Stand’
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
This Brazilian house uses concrete and wood to screen a sleek horizontal living space
The Brazilian house in Minas Gerais by Tetro Arquitetura is designed to elevate and simplify the art of one-level living
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mario Cucinella's Nice headquarters in Brazil offers a bioclimatic take on industrial architecture
Comprising a manufacturing base and R&D Centre, the Nice headquarters in Brazil by Mario Cucinella Architects hail a new era for the company
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Casa Boa Vista is a Brazilian home that opens up to its natural views
Casa Boa Vista by Arthur Casas makes the most of transparencies and natural materials to highlight views and nature in Upstate São Paulo
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Roca São Paulo Gallery’s architecture is a tribute to the Atlantic Forest
Roca São Paulo Gallery designed by architect Fernanda Marques opens in Brazil
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Rúina, Brazil: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
Brazil’s Rúina enters the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
A quiet residential oasis screens itself from a São Paulo suburb
FGMF Arquitetos have created a residential oasis; Casa Cumaru is a secluded masterpiece from steel, concrete, glass and wood
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Casa Monoculo offers a take on treetop living in Brazil
Casa Monoculo by architect Alan Chu is a house raised above the treetops in Alto Paraiso City, Brazil
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Café House in Brazil’s Minas Gerais slots into a sloping site
The Café House is a finely brewed mix of lightness and mass that blends a living space, sleeping area, and inner courtyard with the external landscape
By Jonathan Bell Published