Total rehabilitation of a 19th-century villa in Gloria, Rio de Janeiro. A project full of conviction but without any certainties. Focussing on people’s experiences.

Gloria is a neighborhood with a troubled reputation, and great efforts have been made in the last decade to transform Gloria to its former glories. One of the critical projects in the area’s rejuvenation was the 19th-century villa.
The original business model converted the villa into offices, with new structural additions for offices, parking, and other facilities. However, management wanted to explore new possibilities and hired Amal to come in and rethink it.
Amal assessed the different aspects of the viability of the project: operational (influx of cars and people), experience (why rent in Gloria instead of Ipanema), and flexibility (inflexible plans will lose clients).
The plans for the new building were too inflexible, allocating too much space – an entire floor – for one company. It failed to cater to the possibility of the space being divided into four separate areas for smaller companies. Amal applied commercial flexibility to the edification project and resolved the other more pertinent challenges.
Entering the building could have been problematic due to pedestrians and vehicles sharing the same space. During rush hour, it would become quite busy, which was something that had to be considered. Furthermore, the front of the building provided no shelter when the weather was bad.
Amal solved these problems by providing a sheltered, pedestrian pathway away from the main road, using a space that was previously dedicated to equipment and technical areas. Of course, this was an operational solution, but Amal’s approach is to keep pushing and reflect on people’s experiences.
By converting one of the spaces into a reception, Amal crafted the journey of the office occupants to take them via an art exhibition that changes periodically. So, in addition to people feeling safe and sheltered from the elements, people could enjoy the works of art, which is perfect for the target audience who would rent the space: creatives and highly-skilled professionals, such as lawyers.
Amal’s influence on the entire project was extensive, from strategy, branding, architectural design, interior design, web design, and more.
Scope
Concept
Architecture
Interior Design
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Great efforts have been made in the last decade to transform Gloria to its former glories. One of the critical projects in the area’s rejuvenation was the 19th-century villa.

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The original business model converted the villa into offices, with new structural additions. However, management wanted to explore new possibilities and hired Amal to come in and rethink it.

By converting one of the spaces into a reception, Amal crafted the journey of the office occupants to take them via an art exhibition that changes periodically.