Franca 1055 by Studio Arthur Casas

_presented by RFM
_learn more at: https://www.rfm.com.br

_project: Franca 1055
_architecture: Studio Arthur Casas
_developer: RFM
_location: São Paulo, Brazil

In contemporary architecture, bold statements often take center stage - iconic silhouettes, disruptive materials, and provocative geometries. Yet, there is a quieter kind of architecture that resists protagonism. It doesn’t demand attention, but rather earns it over time, by listening - to the city, to its climate, to its people. It is in this architecture of dialogue, not monologue, where something deeply resonant emerges. Not as an object in the landscape, but as part of it.

Instead of imposing form, this approach cultivates relationships. Between the building and its neighborhood. Between interior and exterior. Between the memory of what once was and the needs of today. It understands that architecture is not just about form or function, but about presence - how a building feels, how it’s used, and how it connects. In this context, vegetation is not decoration, it is language. Circulation is not just movement, it is narrative. And materiality is not trend, it is affect.

This philosophy comes to life in Franca 1055, a mixed-use building located at the corner of Rua da Franca and Avenida Augusta, in São Paulo. Situated in one of the city’s most verdant neighborhoods, the project by the São Paulo-based architecture office proposes a radical yet delicate idea: to disappear into the green. Instead of creating an icon, the team envisioned a building that would become part of the urban forest - a place where the architecture invites the public to walk through, linger, and breathe.

The ground floor opens generously to the street, evoking a plaza rather than a lobby. Large, permeable façades blur the lines between inside and out. Native Atlantic Forest species, chosen for their resilience and biodiversity, climb the walls and fill the gardens. The towers are placed apart to preserve visual corridors and allow the city to pass through. “We didn’t want an austere building,” the architect explains. “We wanted something that felt close, that provoked affection - not only for those who live here, but for everyone walking by.”

Franca 1055 is not about architectural authorship, but architectural generosity. It listens - to the terrain, to the community, and to nature. And in doing so, it reminds us that buildings can be soft, porous, and full of life.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_film by Architecture Hunter
_cover and image scroll courtesy of Studio Arthur Casas

_drawings by Studio Arthur Casas

1. Ground Floor Plan
2. First Floor Plan
3. Second Floor Plan
4. Third Floor Plan
5. First Basement Plan
7. Second Basement Plan
8. Third Basement Plan
9. Fourth Basement Plan
10. Jacarandá Tower Plan – PL Option
11. Ipê Tower Plan – PL Option