CIDADE PEDRA BRANCA RECEIVES A,[object Object],SPECIAL PUBLICATIO

Neighborhood-city created 20 years ago in Greater Florianópolis is an international reference in sustainable urban planning

The celebration of the 20th anniversary of Pedra Branca Creative City – an international reference in sustainable urban planning – deserved a special edition of ÁREA magazine. Launched in June 2020, the special inaugurates the “ÁREA presents” series, created to present highlights in architecture, urbanism, art and design in the southern region of the country. With 68 pages, the magazine has a printed and a digital version, available in:

http://www.revistaarea.com.br/areaapresenta

Pedra Branca Creative City is recognized as a new milestone in urban projects for public and private initiatives. The concept of planned sustainable urbanism applied to the projects attracted the attention of the market, academia and institutions from different countries, receiving awards, certifications and international projection. These achievements result from the future vision of its entrepreneurs, the Gomes Family, which have been building a “city for people” since 1999, in the municipality of Palhoça, in the region of Greater Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina.

Entrepreneurs joined important partners, researched the world over, sought advice from the best specialists – the North American offices DPZ Latin America and Keystone, the Brazilian Jaime Lerner Arquitetura e Urbanismo and the Danish Gehl Architects, specialist in creating cities for people. And they valued local skills, hiring some of Santa Catarina’s leading architectural firms to co-create the new neighborhood centrality alongside architect and urban planner Silvia Lenzi, author of the master plan in partnership with Vigliecca & Associados. They are RC Arquitetura, Studio Domo, Mantovani e Rita Arquitetura, Marchetti Bonetti Arquitetos Associados, Nelson Teixeira Netto Arquitetura, Desenho Alternativo, MOS Arquitetos Associados and, later, JA8 Arquitetura e Paisagem and ARK7 Arquitetos.

“I have been following this innovative initiative closely for over a decade, recording each new stage, each new achievement, as an eyewitness to the creation of a neighborhood-city in a planned, balanced, creative, conscious and responsible manner. It is a privilege to be able to tell a little of this story in this first edition of the ‘ÁREA presents’ series”, says the journalist Letícia Wilson, editor of ÁREA magazine.

New Urbanism

“The result of this work with ÁREA Magazine is a dive into the history of Pedra Branca, with photos, texts and videos. A very important documentary to facilitate the distribution of the complete content about Pedra Branca, also contributing to the preparation of our employees and realtors teams. In addition to the printed version, the online version will be delivered in Portuguese and English, as Pedra Branca is also a world reference in urbanism and is very popular in this regard”, says Clarice Mendonça, marketing manager at Grupo Pedra Branca.

The edition brings articles about the history of Cidade Pedra Branca, created from the transformation of the 250-hectare family farm into a neighborhood-city, about the concepts, the innovative collaborative process adopted in the development of the Master Plan, the incorporation of the precepts of the New Urbanism and sustainability differentials. And it highlights the developments: the pioneer condominiums Pátio das Pedras and Pátio das Flores; Passeio Pedra Branca, the neighborhood’s open-air mall, with the country’s first shared street; the “green buildings”, Office Green and Atrium, both LEED certified; the Smart Residence; the Aeropark, business and aeronautical condominium; o Reserva da Pedra, with artificial lakes and beaches; and the recently inaugurated Pátio Civitas.

The magazine also features an exclusive interview with the businessman Valério Gomes, who envisioned Cidade Pedra Branca, and articles produced especially for this edition by the architect and urbanist Caio Esteves, founder of Places for Us, the first consulting firm specialized in Place Branding in Brazil, on “The importance of community life in the post-normal world”, and by Argentine architects and urban planners Maximo Rumis and Marcela Leiva, founders of DPZ Latin America and Keystone, world references in urban planning, on “The transforming power of urbanism”.

Maximo and Marcela have worked as consultants for Cidade Pedra Branca since 2006, both in adapting the masterplan to the precepts of New Urbanism and in creating the new neighborhood centrality, and in planning new projects.