CASACOR 2019: the Square of Encounters

Taking part in CASACOR is, for any studio, both a showcase and a challenge: translating the studio's signature into a space that moves those who pass through. For the 2019 Ribeirão Preto edition, we designed the Square of Encounters (Praça dos Encontros).

It all began with making the most of a plot that had no right angles. Rather than fighting the irregular geometry, we embraced it: it became a promenade full of pleasant encounters, designed to slow the gaze and bring people closer together.

Nature and technology in a single gesture

While reconnecting people to nature, the spaces also hint at our relationship with technology. It appears, for instance, in the column that adjusts the pools of light and in the sculpture Sinta-se, which releases scents to awaken the senses of those crossing the square.

More than an exhibition garden, the Square of Encounters distilled what we believe: landscaping is not ornament: it is the structure that organises how we gather, the memories we form and the experience of a place.