Bar Benê,
the bar and the square 
 
architecture and urban design,
private comission 


architects

atelier aronis farfelmaze

team
Daniel Farfelmaze, 
Eleonora Aronis,
Sergio Tempel


year
2017

area
50m²

status
built

photographs
André Scarpa



The property chosen for a bar—a former workshop located at the corner of Av. Faria Lima and Rua Padre Garcia Velho—exemplifies the fragmentation and inadequacy of public spaces in São Paulo. Adjacent to the building, a residual green space, a remnant of the Faria Lima Operation, was surrounded by a wall that limited its integration with the surrounding area.

The architectural project aimed to transform not only the building but also its immediate context. By leveraging the potential of the green space and the strategic location of the bar, which serves as an exemplary meeting point, the project sought to create a new relationship between public and private spaces. The wall was reimagined as a site for intervention, and the green space was re-envisioned as a potential plaza, allowing the bar’s program to extend beyond the internal boundaries of the building.

The intervention involved redesigning the existing volume, establishing new connections between the interior and exterior, and integrating the bar's program into a more open and dynamic environment. By clearing and reconfiguring the internal space, materials from the building’s demolition, such as bricks and iron beams, were utilized to create structural solutions and details that respect the site’s history and reduce the environmental impact of the renovation. Additionally, new openings in the walls and the creation of two internal courtyards allow the vegetation and atmosphere of the street and plaza to extend into the bar.

While the two new active facades contribute to the revitalization and appropriation of public space in São Paulo, the bar invites a rethinking of the relationships between open spaces and the dynamics between public and private areas. The wall, once a barrier, has become a meeting point between the public and private spheres, while the residual green space has transformed into a plaza that complements the bar, offering an invitation for social interaction and exchanges that the city can provide.