Biblioteca UFSCAR – Campus Lagoa do Sino

Biblioteca UFSCAR—Campus Lagoa do Sino in São Paulo, Brazil, serves as the new heart of the campus, bringing together a public plaza, library, auditorium, and the university’s administrative offices. Its design blends enclosed volumes with open-air spaces, encouraging social interaction and enriching campus life. A generous roof structure, detached from the building, creates a 1.5-meter air cushion and allows natural ventilation to maintain thermal comfort throughout the day. The building combines traditional rammed earth and timber, uniting time-honoured vernacular techniques with contemporary architectural solutions. Rammed earth—a millennia-old construction method—involves compacting layers of damp soil between wooden forms to create thick, stable walls with outstanding thermal and acoustic performance. Using locally sourced, low-impact materials makes it an inherently sustainable approach, celebrating ancestral building knowledge while fostering cultural identity. The timber structure, used beams, and roofing complement the solidity of the rammed earth with lightness and modularity. The only concrete elements are bracing beams, which reinforce the constructional clarity. Generous timber window frames enhance material coherence and provide environmental comfort along with abundant natural light. Responsibly sourced wood contributes to the building’s warm aesthetic and emphasises its artisanal and ecological design principles. The integration of these elements results in an architecture deeply attuned to its surroundings, minimising carbon emissions, honouring local traditions, and delivering lasting, efficient comfort.