Retrofitting an iconic, commercial building in the Paulista region in São Paulo.
Located close to Paulista Avenue, São Paulo’s most famous street, real estate developer Bracel Empreendimentos Imobiliários wanted to improve its Ed Jorge Salomão building’s sustainability credentials and reposition it as a leading office rental space in the market.
Key information
- Location:
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Date started:
- 2017
- Completion date:
- 2020
- Client type:
- Real estate
- Main services:
- Advisory, cost and commercial management, project management
From old to new
Occupying a prominent position, the Ed Jorge Salomão office building was constructed in the 1960s by Rino Levi, one of Brazil’s most recognised architects. Spanning 12,000 square metres across 15 floors, it was occupied by a single tenant until 2017.
Renovating the original façade, Bracel wanted to upgrade the existing building, to improve energy efficiency, reduce the operational costs, help to attract tenants and gain a market edge.
Due to its age, the retrofit needed to be comprehensive, involving changing all mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering installations, internal and façade finishing, and floor configuration.
Solution driven investments
We initially conducted a property condition assessment to better understand the building’s existing status.
This process also considered value-engineering analysis to give the client minimal, medium and maximum interventions for the building. For each solution, we presented capital expenditure costs to the client to show the investment required.
Based on this initial study, Bracel appointed us to provide project and cost management services.
Improving sustainability
The retrofit provided a unique opportunity to improve the sustainability of the building, including implementing a reuse water system, upgrading the air conditioning, and improving control of waste disposal.
The building has also achieved core and shell LEED certification, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable design and construction for the structure, envelope and building-level systems.
As a result of the work carried out, the rental value of the building increased by 30 percent.