Metro Arquitetos designed the Nestle factory's visiting area in 2011 with an intent to create a landmark space. The site is located along a highway that connects Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Design

One of the main issues was ensuring visibility to the public, this was achieved with the installation of two steel framed glass towers, which can be seen from the highway. The towers are connected to foot bridges that wrap around the existing building, granting access to the elevated walkway inside the factory. This keeps visitor and services traffic distinctly separated. The structural geometry and the materials used were designed to trigger a sensory experience while contributing to the comprehension of the history and production of the chocolate when visiting.

The work carried out was an intervention inside the existing Nestle chocolate factory. The original factory was built in the 60's, although it was intended to have public access, it wasn't as successfully accomplished.

The redesign therefore needed to resolve the organisation of visitors in relation to the production flow. Metro Arquitetos solved this by transforming the visitation circuit with interactive content within the new tower and walkways, while also adding a recognisable element to the existing building. Each tower houses stairs and an elevator, the shortest bridge serves as an entrance while the longest one is the exit, both running parallel to the highway.

Inside the visitors circuit there are ten themes based on the production of the factory, from the raw materials, going through the different stages of production until the final packaging phase. Circular windows open in strategic spots. Each theme has specific colours and materials, as well as soundtracks and scenography.

Construction

The towers and footbridges are constructed by tubular steel pieces which also create a frame for the glass and metal panels. The floors are constructed with perforated metal sheeting, which allows natural ventilation and drainage. The roof is made from steel paneling with an EPS core to improve the thermo-acoustic performance. The structure is made up of non-coplanar triangular meshes 2.5 meters high that repeat every ten meters. The triangular shape makes the structure more rigid yet slender and allows the glass to reflect different parts of the landscape.