@Fernando Guerra
Alex Hanazaki Paysagismo
Brazil
Alex Hanazaki graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Marília (SP) in 1998. In that same year he founded his own office, where until 2018 he has completed more than 1,500 projects, including residential and commercial projects.
Alex Hanazaki is a landscape architect who works throughout Brazil: he is gaining popularity on the international stage, since he begun to reveive important accolades.
Due to his childhood and youth in a small town inside São Paulo, he was always in contact with nature. At that root is the necessary basis to create projects with their feet on the ground, permeated by quality of life and infused with emotional sense. On the other hand, it is a cosmopolitan spirit that really turns gardens into absolutely stunning settings.
In tune with his high sense of perfectionism and aesthetics, the office he leads has architects specialized in landscaping and agronomists dedicated exclusively to monitoring the implementation of the gardens.
His studio works in partnership with leading architectural firms and large developers, in the execution of different projects throughout the national territory.
Alex Hanazaki is the only Brazilian winner of the ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) award, the most respected landscape association in the world: in 2014 he signed the winning garden in the residential category and, in 2017, in the general category.
He was invited, among eight of the main landscaping offices in the world, to build a permanent garden for IGA Berlin (International Gartenausstellung), in Germany. Opened in 2017, its project represents contemporary gardens in Latin America.
For most Brazilian landscape designers, Roberto Burle Marx was a great inspiration for everyone, due to his great ability to mix the vegetation of various species, in addition to being the only one in the world to have the opportunity to build the capital of a country, as he did in Brasilia.
Several gardens have been able to change my life over my more than 20 years of profession. However, each one had its importance at a different time. The garden in which I could be exposed to all of Brazil, was at an event called CasaCor, which until today is the largest showcase in Brazil for exhibiting large architectural spaces. Other gardens that, in this case, brought even greater proportions, were the ASLA award winning gardens, being the CG Garden gardens (residential) and the Praça Eliane garden (a public square).
SELECTED PROJECTS
CGD Gramado
The garden is located on a 3000m² polygonal terrain in a quiet neighborhood in the suburbs of Campinas, the second largest city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Due to the shape of the terrain, architecture inserted volumes on different angles creating inner spaces, but that also opens up to the horizon. Water should play a major role on the main outdoor area, so the landscape is sculpted into shapes and volumes that can be filled with water, playing with volumes and depths. The pool lane is an extensive water volume raised a few centimeters from the ground.
The same effect is used on a spa inserted in the reflecting pool, as a raised volume of water. They are laid with black volcanic stone tiles, that offer several shades of colors which change, depending on the light. They are also a smooth reflective surface meant to expand the perception of the garden and the sky.
Some islands amidst the reflecting pool with lush vegetation yield a natural paradisiac feeling that extends to the vegetation throughout the garden. A pathway in travertine marble crosses the reflecting pool to reach the pool lane and its light color strikes a contrast to the darker tones of the water. Extending from the gourmet area, steps lead to a lounge with a fireplace below ground level. It offers coziness and a stunning perspective of the swimming pool towards the house and its surroundings.
The architecture encloses another inner space and the landscape architect took advantage of it to design a contemplative garden that can be enjoyed from the living room. A lavish green scenery envelops a natural pond with fish and a sequence of sculptural stone walls sets a background and blocks the view of the access to the garage. A cascade runs onto the pond producing a calming sound and enhancing thermal comfort with the pond.
The plants were selected to achieve an exuberant green palette, mostly tropical plants adapted to the local climate and flowering plants and trees to offer shades of color during different times of the year. On the main garden, statuesque palm trees add verticality to the architecture and offer a pleasant shade from the sun during the hot days.
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