The Sacred Leaves Pavilion in Brazil: Folhas sagradas A Celebration of Biodiversity
- Arq. Pablo Vazquez
- Apr 10
- 2 min read
Author: Pablo Vazquez
A lover of discovering new places and a workaholic, in short, an architect.
NAME OF WORK: Sacred Leaves Pavilion.
ARCHITECTS: Atelier Daniel Florez.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Maira Acabaya.
LOCATION: Tibau Do Sul, Brazil.
YEAR: 2021.
M2: 50 m2.
“Folhas sagradas” is a pavilion inside a hotel that rises above an impressive beach populated by turtles and dolphins. The Hotel makes respect for its location and its coexistence with nature the reason, the origin and the flag of its hotel experience.
During the day, the strong tropical sun is relieved by the sea breeze from the trade winds that blow from the southeast almost all year round, constantly moving the clouds. The laminated wood structure and the bamboo generate a shaded and ventilated space under the polycarbonate roof and project with its shadow the drawing of a leaf, which appears, moves and disappears in a kind of magic created by the movement of the clouds, the wind and the sun.
During the night, the warm artificial light filters through the polycarbonate, showing three sacred leaves from the terraces of the hotel villas. The perception of the leaves floating in the forest, as well as their projected shadows, poetically remind us of our commitment to life and to the preservation of other species that inhabit our planet, turning the tourist stay at the Hotel into an educational experience as well.
The lamps, designed with the New York lighting studio of Natalia Priwin, are made with recycled bamboo parts and hang from the wooden beams by means of copper cylinders that, with their greenish oxidation, express the passage of time.
A pipe cooling system circulates through the beams evaporating aromatic water into the umbraculum to cool the temperature and irrigate the numerous plants that coexist in a tropical Eden and a greenhouse-like ecosystem.
The double curvature of the roof geometry casts a different shadow on each column of the pavilion, due to the double curvature of the column geometry. As with the Erechtheion grandstand, each column has an identity. Like any actor in an ecosystem. Equality and diversity.
The materials used are plywood from fast-growing trees from reforestation areas, bamboo, natural stone, and a white sand drainage floor that returns water from the roof to the ground aquifers. All natural elements have a near-zero carbon footprint.
The construction has been conceived with removable and transportable elements, fulfilling its design commitment to the circular economy.
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