The design concept adopted for the new SESC Thermas unit in Presidente Prudente seeks to respond to the complex relationship between the programmatic requirements and construction constraints with clarity, assertiveness, and simplicity. The complex will be built on the same site currently occupied by the institution’s existing headquarters in the city, near UNESP and Manoel Goulart Avenue.
The essential gesture of the proposed solution is the establishment of a large, level surface aligned with Alberto Peters Street. This elevated plaza functions as an integrating and organizing space for the SESC’s circulation systems and activities. The planned sequence of open spaces is responsible for ensuring the project’s social and communal character. All built volumes also serve to structure the resulting open spaces, and the relationship between them is fundamental to the user experience. The elevation defined for the plaza ensures adequate solar exposure for the swimming pool and its surroundings, while also providing long views that accompany moments of leisure and sports activities.
The main built volume is organized linearly along the same street, minimizing the impact on existing vegetation and enabling an efficient split-level solution for parking. The ensemble is completed by a smaller volume that helps define both the upper plaza and the lower plaza in front of the reversible stage, while simultaneously establishing important connections with the more central portion of the site. The architectural compactness optimizes construction costs and simplifies building operation.
The structural system is hybrid (concrete and steel), with lightweight thermoacoustic roof panels, while the remaining subsystems are based on simple construction methods and materials widely available on the market—prioritizing durability, ease of maintenance, and reliable cost predictability. The roofing solution adopted for the sports courts, based on space trusses with variable triangular sections, provides an optimized response to both vertical and horizontal loads. Most façades are shaded by micro-perforated synthetic mesh screens, which ensure effective ventilation and—when installed offset from the inner façade surface—enhance the stack ventilation effect created by the resulting air cavity. Such products require minimal maintenance and offer a long service life.
The structural grid of the main block follows dimensions of 10 m × 13 m, while the smaller block adopts a 9 m × 9 m grid. These modulations efficiently organize the specific requirements of the program while keeping the building highly adaptable over time. With this strategy of plan flexibility in mind, vertical circulation cores and sanitary facilities are positioned adjacent to the occupied zones of the main block.
The program is strategically organized to prioritize functional affinities and to make navigation through the building intuitive and pleasant. Immediately adjacent to the main entrance are the social and exhibition areas, which precede the theater foyer. Also near the main access, visitors can easily identify the service and information desk. From this point, access to the sports and health areas opens to the left, while a delicate canopy invites visitors to proceed straight ahead toward the multipurpose rooms, library, and dining area, which can be reached either by elevators or by an open stair that gradually reveals views of the events plaza. The lower level accommodates parking spaces and the complex’s logistical facilities in an integrated and rational manner, particularly facilitating the operation of the theater and food-related activities.
