Bahian architect Caio Bandeira designs spaces in complete harmony with nature.
Casa de Vidro by the architect Lina Bo Bardi
"Nature is invincible, there's no way of beating it. You have to respect the climate and the culture (of the place). This all has to be absorbed and respected by the architect in the design."
Caio Bandeira has been certain since childhood that he would carve out a promising career, leaving his mark on Bahian architecture. When he went to study at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), it opened his mind about the limits that architecture can reach in terms of style and ability, always respecting nature and the surroundings of the buildings. A partner at the firm Architects + CO (alongside Thiago Martins), Bandeira designed Nampur's Aura development, located in Arraial d'Ajuda, in the south of Bahia.
Different from the Europeans, who use gardens as an architectural element, Brazilian buildings seek to integrate with nature in a more organic process. You just have to look at modernist designs like Casa de Vidro (SP) by Lina Bo Bardi, or Casa das Canoas (RJ) by Oscar Niemeyer. "At the firm, we use elements that promote this integration with nature and with the view. I visited the Aura site three times to study and understand the best position of the houses to get the greatest amount of harmony with the urbanization, guaranteeing privacy and comfort," he explains.
Guggenheim Bilbao by the architect Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Bilbao by the architect Frank Gehry
In Bahia, buildings have to have one feature: cover. Because he says that it rains for ten months of the year. "Brazilian houses have to be designed with a roof, especially on the Brazilian coast facing the Atlantic. There will always be humidity and rain," he suggests. "The concept of indestructible architecture was broken with the construction of the Guggenheim Bilbao, in Spain. They made the museum covered with titanium, and it rains 10 months less there than in Bahia, and the material that they thought was indestructible rusted."
Bandeira has been creating his signature designs by giving life to the spaces where internal and external areas blend together with elements that strengthen his creative flair (like the vertical brise soleils, present since his first project). "I like creating settings that require little decoration and don't have lots of information." When starting a project, he likes to visit the place to understand what could inspire him in cultural terms. If there are tribal elements, he will search for references in indigenous tribes, for example.
When he thinks about a project, he seeks to unite all the sensations that activate the senses: from smell to temperature, in addition to the different textures. "With Instagram and this digital era, architecture is strongly associated with image. But you have to feel and enter it. This is the big differential of the firm, that it avoids following trends. It is always seeking new and original. Our brand is wanting to create and innovate." Among his references are Zanine Caldas and Paulo Mendes da Rocha. Wood is a material that always appears in his drawings, because besides offering comfort, it reinforces his environmental concerns.
