The first Brazilian project by Safdie Architects has broken ground in Sao Paolo's Morumbi neighborhood on November 6. Developed in partnership with Perkins+Will, The Albert Einstein Education and Research Center is part of the Albert Einstein hospital complex.
The new center, named Campus Cecilia and Abram Szajman, will be one of the most advanced institutions in Latin America for medical studies. It will feature innovations in learning methods and technologies, as well as flexible research laboratories capable of adapting to the advancement of hospital techniques.
"The new Albert Einstein Education and Research Center will provide an oasis for bustling urban life," said Moshe Safdie. "Our project promotes a sense of calm - a lush inner garden with different levels, informal meeting areas, and classrooms masked by an inventive glass cover that evokes the feeling of being under the shade of a tree. The design of this center will educate and empower tomorrow's medical leaders," the architect concluded.
Cláudio Lottenberg, chairman of the Deliberative Council of the Brazilian Israeli Beneficent Society Albert Einstein, added: "Moshe Safdie and his architects are our ideal collaborators in this project. Their creations are both functional and beautiful, creating an uplifting atmosphere that supports the mission and aspirations of the center."
Located on a sloping terrain, the new center takes advantage of topography and is divided into two wings: one dedicated to research, the other to teaching connected by a landscaped atrium in the center of the building. The program, distributed in classrooms, laboratories, offices, an auditorium, and a cafeteria, is organized along a series of gaps around this atrium.
The project is scheduled to be completed by 2021 and, once started, will increase the capacity of the complex to 4,000 students.
News via Safdie Architects