Fecomercio's new headquarters building aims to create an urban landmark in the region of Avenida Raja Gabaglia that expresses the institution's relevance to the city of Belo Horizonte and the state of Minas Gerais.

​

The building is located on a generous plot of approximately 5,000m2 facing Avenida Raja Gabaglia and Rua Cachoeira de Minas. A large external atrium, next to Av. Raja Gabaglia, welcomes the public and distributes access to its different functions such as auditorium, convention center, event hall and administrative offices of Fecomercio. This atrium has a triple ceiling height, about 10 meters high and maintains views over the Serra do Curral and the Belo Horizonte skyline.

​

A vehicle entrance along Av. Raja Gabaglia leads to the port-cochere, located below the atrium level, which allows access to all floors of the building. Taking advantage of the natural unevenness of the terrain, 240 parking spaces were made available on 3 parking levels.

​

Next to the ground floor is the auditorium, with a total capacity for 300 people, and equipped with a public foyer and a mezzanine with a balcony connected to the covered square through a walkway that crosses the triple height of the atrium. On the floor above is the convention center with a foyer and flexible conference rooms, with a capacity between 60 and 70 people, which can be combined in different sizes and allowing a large hall for 400 people.

​

The various political and administrative functions of the entity are distributed on 3 floors, with spaces for affiliated unions, superintendencies, advisory services, regional directorates of SESC and SENAC, in addition to the Presidency of the Fecomercio System. Next to the Presidency's office is located the room for the trade union plenary meeting, with capacity for 100 people.

​

On the roof of the building, an events hall for 250 people, equipped with an industrial kitchen and balconies adjacent to uncovered terraces, in addition to technical spaces and a helipad, complement the building's functions.

​

All service accesses are located at the southern end of the land and have an area for loading and unloading trucks and a support block with vertical circulation that serves all floors. This configuration allows the services – from a stage set up in the auditorium to a buffet service in the convention center – to function completely independently of public access and the main functions of the building.

​

The treatment of the building's external surfaces aims to maintain views of Serra do Curral and the city of Belo Horizonte without compromising the building's environmental sustainability. A glass curtain is used on the facades with less insolation, south and east. On the north and west facades with greater insolation, a second loose skin of the facade was created, in perforated metal sheet, reducing direct sunlight and maintaining visual permeability.

The sustainability and efficiency of the building will be guaranteed with the use of lamps LED, state-of-the-art air conditioning system, elevator automation, special glass on the facade, dual flush flushing systems, reuse of water from the rain, permeable areas on the ground well above that required by PBH.

​

Architecture

Gustavo Penna, Norberto Bambozzi, Laura Penna, Ricardo Gomes Lopes, Priscila Dias de Araújo, Vivian Hunnicutt, Alyne Ferreira, Catarina Hermanny, Ana Isabel de Sá, Natália Ponciano, Marcus Martins, Hiromi Sassaki, Alice Leite Flores

​

Management and Planning

Rísia Botrel, Isabela Tolentino

​

Place

Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais – Brazil

 

Technical Data
Project year: 2010

Built area: approximately 10072m²

Images 
Virtually