Wohnhochhaus am Hansaviertel |奥斯卡·尼迈耶OSCAR NIEMEYER-卓美

Federico Covre

In the south-west corner of the Hansaquarter lies the eight-story building by Oscar Niemeyer and Soares Filho, Brazil’s contribution to the International Builders Fair of 1957.
The concrete frame construction rests on V-shaped pillars and is 27m high, 72m long and 15m wide. Its longitudinal axis runs north-south. There are 78 apartments with altogether 5089m².
The facade consists of rectangular loggias whose uniformity is broken up by a band of windows in the 5th story, which was intended as the common room of the building. This shared story was to create a feeling of community by providing space for events – an idea called ‘conjunto’ (free story) in Brazil.
The most significant feature is the tower next to the building, which holds a service elevator and passenger elevator. The tower is connected to the main building by passages only at the 5th and 7th stories. Because of this inhabitant-unfriendly solution people mostly use one of the six staircases in the center.