Praça do Natal, Natal, Brazil

zerOgroup/Unique wins Christmas square design competition in Brazil
zerOgroup/Unique won the competition for the ‘Praça do Natal’ in Natal, Brazil. ‘Natal’ meaning ‘Christmas’ in Portuguese, the city launched a competition to develop a square dedicated to Christmas as a new tourist spot.

Rather than allowing 33% of the existing square to be inaccessible with the setting up of the tallest Christmas tree of Brazil (current), the proposal aims keep 100% of the square accessible all year long, while proposing a structural icon to support the tallest Christmas tree in the world.

The iconic support designed by zerOgroup/Unique is curved in order to maximize the public space’s use, while its skin is dematerialized at the top to minimize the impact of such a monument on the direct surroundings.

Lifting up the base of the tree, the project creates a shaded circular area connecting social/leisure functions of the public space: handicraft markets, restaurants, a bar, fountains, an infopoint, a multipurpose stage, and of course, a Christmas crib… The artificial landscape, thought of as a structure for the circular shading and energy producing system, is a reference to Natal’s landscape: the dunes.

The competition team comprised: Laurent Troost, Eduardo Flôrencio Quintella, Ivvy Quintella. Completion is expected at year's end 2009.

source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
architecture NOW