The Guara Masterplan presents a proposal for the requalification of a former institutional area with the presence of existing buildings of historical and cultural interest to create a new neighborhood integrated with the historic infrastructure of Brasília, in the Federal District - Brazil.

The creation of 223m² of designed area is imbued with the concept of the "15-minute city," a compact and polycentric city approach where key activities are designed to be carried out through walking, with blocks composed of mixed-use architectures, activities, and views that prioritize pedestrians and human scale. Following this contemporary premise of urban quality, the terrain was divided into four blocks of less than 180m to encourage walkability, the creation of squares within 250m of all planned buildings, and also the encouragement of buildings with active facades. The road infrastructure proposes a slow, attractive, and sensory neighborhood experience, with a main road connected to the existing road system, integration with the cycle path system, and local roads embraced by public green areas, with speed reduction solutions along its entire length.

The phased implementation aimed to create a porous interface of a green park intertwined with leisure spaces and urban gardens with the DF - 085 highway, the main access road to the southwest vector of the largest population centers with the master plan. A planned area composed of sports facilities and children's recreation, for environmental recovery and transition of the immediate surroundings with the new occupation, bringing social and climatic improvements to the region as a whole - air, water, and soil quality. And at the other end of the Masterplan project, the constant presence of water in elements such as mirrors and water jets, defining spatialities and playful uses in the urban design proposal.The existing building - a local heritage in an institutional area - is the formulating anchor of the entire program, bringing urban regeneration through new uses such as a hub for technological development and innovation, commercial areas, gastronomic variety, and spaces for events and facilities. The intention is the consolidation of a new local centrality ecosystem - where urban, economic, and social development coexist and feed back into each other. At the architectural scale, the creation of a mix of products together with architectural elements that intertwine architecture and nature has in the interface between public and private the balance between man and his environment. The ground floor opens up to people with transparency, enjoyment, and uses suitable for ground level and that can reverberate throughout the urban infrastructure.

Landscaping has been investigated to exalt the natural landscape of the cerrado, an important Brazilian biome with savanna characteristics and recognized worldwide for its biodiversity.

The Guara Masterplan proposal aims to create a legible urban infrastructure, which through small infiltrations echoes throughout the area as a whole, in order to give value to preexistence, foreseeing habitation not only as living space but also as connected private living spaces and public spaces proposed.

Architecture: ARCHITECTS OFFICE 

Partner in charge:  Greg Bousquet

Architecture director: Sávio Jobim

Dedicated team: Rafael Igayara, Larissa Oliveira, Carolina Passos, André Arena, Thiago Buccieri, Caio Coelho, Letícia Baquini