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Concept/Competition


Brazilian Maritime museum

Patalano Arquitetura teamed up with urban planner and heritage connoisseur Rodrigo Azevedo to submit a proposal for a national architectural competition: The maritime museum in Rio de Janeiro.

The historical site in downtown Rio de Janeiro, has two areas of intervention, a 1865 narrow and long pier and a second one adjacent to the historic seafront boulevard.

The core decision was to rest an organic undulating stainless steel clad glulam roof over the pier in order to act as a verandah embark/disembark platform for WWII vessels such as a submarine , and other objects such as an airplane and an helicopter. A symbolically charged structure that could be linked to waves, vessels or sea creatures. A strong statement that was carefully designed to allow sea views from the boulevard, specially from the axis from Candelária cathedral to Ilha fiscal royal building, a bit further out sat on an island.

A special empty space under the roof frames that view and to a vast area at the end of the pier was left untouched. Across this empty space, still at the pier, there are areas for closed permanent collections and technical areas. A trussed structure connects the pier to a larger area of the museu by the historic boulevard in order to activate the area with a book store, restaurant, café and a multifunctional public exhibit/foyer.

This part of the building faces the boulevard with a fully glazed facade with automated shades and connects the foyer with a tall floating fully closed temporary exhibit room. There is also a public staircase on its opaque northern facade to a belvedere on the garden roof.

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