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Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi by Nicholas Alencar

Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi by Nicholas Alencar is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award in Usanifu wa Majengo, Ujenzi na Miundo Competition Category.


ShabaUsanifu wa Majengo· 2026

Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi

by Nicholas Alencar

Client: Alencar

Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award Winner in Usanifu wa Majengo Category

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The Design

About Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi

Kaiserstrasse ni jengo la makazi lenye vyumba saba huko Blumenau, Brazili, ambalo linafafanua upya maisha ya mijini kwa kuunganisha faragha ya nyumba na faida za makazi ya wima. Kila ghorofa iliyokamilika hufunguka kwenye matuta mapana, mabwawa ya kuogelea ya faragha, na vyungu vya mimea vilivyounganishwa, na hivyo kubadilisha uso wa jengo kuwa bustani ya wima. Ghorofa ya chini iliyo wazi inakaribisha mwingiliano na jiji, ilhali paa la pamoja hutoa burudani ya pamoja na mandhari ya panorama, likisawazisha faragha, jamii, na uendelevu.

The Recognition

About the Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award

Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi ni mshindi wa Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award, utambuzi wenye heshima kubwa unaotolewa kwa miundo bora inayotofautishwa kwa ubunifu, ustadi na busara. Washindi wa Shaba ni kazi za ufundi mwingi na bunifu ya kushangaza zinazothibitisha uzoefu mpana, mawazo na ustadi wa wabunifu wao. Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi inatarajiwa kuwa kitu kinachothaminiwa sana, kupendwa na kuenziwa, ambacho ni cha kitaalamu na bunifu kwa kiasi kikubwa. Muundo huu ulioshinda Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award unajumuisha mbinu bora katika sanaa, sayansi, usanifu na teknolojia, na ni bora kwa umakini wake kwa undani. Kaiserstrasse Kazi Kuu: Jengo la Makazi hutosheleza mahitaji kwa uzuri, hugusa hamu, huvutia hisia na kuvutia udadisi.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Kaiserstrasse is a seven-unit residential building that redefines urban housing by blending the privacy and richness of a house - verandas, courtyards, vegetation - with the advantages of vertical living. Each unit occupies a full floor, with private outdoor spaces and mature trees growing from the slabs. Located on a historic avenue once lined with villas, the building uses parametric design to create stepped, dynamic forms that maximize natural light and airflows.
Dimensions & Packaging
Total built area: 4,973 square meters. The building rises with a stepped form, housing seven full-floor apartments with terraces, private pools, and integrated vegetation. Structure: cast-in-place reinforced concrete. Façade: floor-to-ceiling glazing with brise-soleils. Features include natural cross ventilation, smart irrigation, and communal rooftop amenities.
Tags
Residential, Building, Architecture, Brazil, Residential Building, Residential Architecture, Vertical Garden, Parametric Design, Adaptive Layout, Private Pools
Production Technology
The project was realized through cast-in-place reinforced concrete combined with integrated planters in the slabs. Parametric design tools guided solar and ventilation studies, ensuring environmental performance. Structural cores and minimized internal load-bearing walls enabled open, adaptable layouts. Local, durable materials with low embodied carbon were prioritized.
Design Challenge
The greatest challenge was reconciling strict setback regulations with the desire for generous terraces and openness. Instead of limiting the design, the rules shaped its sculpted form. Additional challenges included integrating mature trees into structural slabs, balancing privacy with community, and ensuring sustainability with local construction techniques.
Research
Applied architectural research focused on integrating house-like qualities into high-density housing. Objectives included maximizing light, ventilation, and biodiversity. Methods: solar studies, parametric modeling, and structural experimentation. Data came from environmental simulations and code interpretation. Results: adaptable layouts, reduced energy demand, and a façade as a living vertical garden. Insights highlight sustainable, community-oriented urban housing.
Inspiration
The project was inspired by the historic avenue once lined with villas, where gardens and verandas defined daily life. The motive was to reinterpret these qualities—privacy, openness, vegetation—within a vertical structure, blending the comfort of a private house with the convenience of urban apartment living. Strict setback regulations also shaped the building’s sculpted, stepped form.
Project Duration
The project started in 2020 in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and was completed in March 2025. Located on Alameda Rio Branco, one of the city’s most historic avenues, the building embodies a contemporary reinterpretation of the street’s traditional villas while proposing a new vision for urban living.
Operation Flow
Each resident experiences the privacy of a house with the benefits of collective living. Apartments flow seamlessly from interior to large terraces and pools, creating indoor-outdoor living. The open ground floor reconnects the building with the city, while the shared rooftop offers leisure and gathering space, encouraging community interaction.
Image Credits
Image #1: Leonardo Finotti, Kaiserstraße, 2025
Image #2: Leonardo Finotti, Kaiserstraße, 2025
Image #3: Leonardo Finotti, Kaiserstraße, 2025
Image #4: Leonardo Finotti, Kaiserstraße, 2025
Image #5: Leonardo Finotti, Kaiserstraße, 2025

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