{"id":261533,"date":"2025-08-01T17:19:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T21:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=canvasflow&p=261533"},"modified":"2025-08-05T11:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:09:18","slug":"sao-paulo-airport-terminal-vip-pascali-semerdjian","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/sao-paulo-airport-terminal-vip-pascali-semerdjian\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiet Opulence Lands at S\u00e3o Paulo Airport\u2019s VIP Terminal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 26,000-square-foot terminal\u2019s butterfly roofs define two pavilions\u2014check-in and international departures\u2014separated by the garden.\ufeff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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August 1, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Michael Snyder<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Fran Parente<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Quiet Opulence Lands at S\u00e3o Paulo Airport\u2019s VIP Terminal<\/h1>\n\n\n

No one\u2014save for the most committed aviation enthusiast\u2014enjoys the airport. The sounds of hundreds of voices bounce off hard, smooth surfaces and reverberate around soaring interior volumes. Glaring fluorescents, icy as a dentist\u2019s operating light, eliminate any sense of time. Labyrinthine corridors and constant security checkpoints give every interaction the tone of an interrogation. With their peculiar combination of sensory overload and deprivation, airline terminals rarely generate anything but stress\u2014which is precisely the experience that Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos<\/a> and Perkins&Will<\/a> (P&W) set out to subvert when the two firms collaborated on the newly opened BTG Pactual VIP Terminal at S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s notoriously crowded Guarulhos International Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Named for the Brazilian bank that spearheaded the project, the facility is believed to be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere\u2014not merely a suite of first-class lounges or VIP rooms within an existing structure, but a standalone building that allows well-heeled travelers to evade the frustrations, indignities, and congestion endemic to conventional airports. For P&W principal and S\u00e3o Paulo studio managing director Fernando Vidal, that architectural independence was fundamental. Where a lounge might help alleviate the anxieties of check-in, security, and immigration\u2014a palliative at best\u2014the sequestered S\u00e3o Paulo Airport terminal, he notes, would be \u201cthe first experience on a trip, so the question was how to transform that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a Break at This S\u00e3o Paulo Airport Terminal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Capped by a butterfly roof that evokes flight, the BTG Pactual VIP Terminal is a 26,000-square-foot standalone facility by Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos and Perkins&Will that caters exclusively to affluent travelers at S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Guarulhos International Airport.\ufeff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The P&W team began by rethinking both the physical and conceptual basics of air-transit architecture: natural, rather than artificial, light; wood and stone rather than what Vidal calls \u201ctechnological materials\u201d like steel columns and epoxy floors; transparency rather than obfuscation; and deep-rooted specificity rather than placeless anonymity. The building the firm envisioned\u2014functional yet comfortable, calming yet characterful\u2014was, the architect acknowledges, \u201cessentially a private house with a public use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanning 26,000 square feet, the terminal\u2019s main volume is divided into two sections: \u201cland\u201d (the equivalent of a standard terminal\u2019s pre-security check-in area) and \u201cair\u201d (the departures lounge). Separating them, a shared internal garden is planted with trees specifically selected not to attract birds\u2014an essential air-traffic safety consideration. Still, winged visitors of a sort do perch on the structure, in the form of twin butterfly roofs that admit natural light and offer views of the sky through clerestory windows and glazed side walls. A pair of hallways hidden in the building\u2019s lateral ends link the two pavilions while discreetly accommodating security and immigration stations\u2014domestic on one side, international on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing Beats a Luxe Holiday at This S\u00e3o Paulo Airport Terminal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A work by S\u00e3o Paulo\u2013based artist Julia Kater enlivens a corner in international arrivals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Custom seating booths line check-in\u2019s glazed wall overlooking the internal garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The brass reading lamps are also custom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

With the architecture of the shell determined, Pascali Semerdjian was brought in to outfit the interiors. For coprincipal Sarkis Semerdjian, who frequently works on residential projects for affluent clients, the first challenge was to offer \u201cthe feeling of something familiar\u2014but more.\u201d<\/em> In Brazil, he notes, high-end houses and apartments too often feel \u201cpasteurized,\u201d relying on a handful of pieces by iconic artists and designers as obvious signifiers of wealth and taste. In all the firm\u2019s assignments, coprincipal Domingos Pascali adds, \u201cWe aim to create something elegant that doesn\u2019t feel copy-pasted,\u201d combining lesser-known works by mid-century masters, pieces by contemporary designers, and custom furnishings tailored to the specific demands of the project itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the ask was for interventions that would provide discrete, private spaces without disrupting P&W\u2019s open, airy plan. Using slats of pau ferro<\/em>\u2014an indigenous hardwood the color of walnut\u2014Semerdjian crafted gridded screens reminiscent of traditional Brazilian muxarabi,<\/em> an adaptation of Moorish mashrabiya<\/em> latticework, which are deployed throughout the terminal. On the \u201cland\u201d side, for instance, they appear in the check-in lounge as low partitions defining seating booths that flank the glazed wall overlooking the garden. On the \u201cair\u201d side, they enclose a pergola housing an intimate jade green\u2013marble bar and dining area, furnished with Etel Carmona chairs and tables by Luciana Martins and Gerson de Oliveira\u2014two recent examples of refined, clich\u00e9-free regional design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous Brazilian Hardwood Furnishes This Quiet Haven<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A restroom\u2019s Verde Guatemala marble sink is fed, waterfall-style, by a brass faucet that integrates a planter of tropical flora, all custom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not that Brazil\u2019s trademark ebullience doesn\u2019t occasionally break through. Responding to the client\u2019s request that the restrooms be particularly memorable\u2014and accommodate fresh flowers\u2014Semerdjian, in perhaps the project\u2019s most daring design gesture, dreamed up a wash station of almost equatorial lushness. Set in a large white-marble box, a rectangular green-marble sink is fed, waterfall-style, by a floor-standing brass faucet, its sculptural column surmounted by a shallow trough planted with tropical flora, as if the flow originated from a natural forest spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That voluptuous, overflowing sink is as overtly expressive as the terminal\u2019s formal language gets. Nothing else is especially grand or performative. Even the soaring roofline, which Vidal acknowledges was conceived to resemble a bird touching down, serves less to draw the eye upward than to dematerialize the building, allowing attention to drift toward the garden growing at its heart. The materials palette is quietly considered: Walls are clad in pau ferro<\/em> paneling or fine-grain acrylic plaster; upholstery fabrics\u2014from buttery leather to nubbly boucl\u00e9\u2014introduce textural and tonal variety; creamy limestone-look porcelain tile flooring is softened by natural-fiber rugs; and marble is used sparingly but with telling effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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High-back sofas populating the international departure lounge are custom, as is the illuminated brass-and-marble wall-mounted bookcase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While modern airport architecture often seems intended to overwhelm travelers with something like awe, P&W and Pascali Semerdjian employ altogether subtler means to achieve a more modest\u2014but more difficult\u2014goal. \u201cNormally when you go to an airport, you\u2019re hoping to pass through as quickly as possible,\u201d Vidal concludes. \u201cWe want people to stay a little longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy the Zen Vibes at Guarulhos International Airport’s New Terminal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The check-in lounge juxtaposes custom furnishings with a seating group that includes a 1960s sofa by pioneering Brazilian manufacturer M\u00f3veis Cimo, a pair of Hygge armchairs by Studio Lucas Caram\u00e9s, and round Trevo coffee tables by PSDS, Pascali Semerdjian\u2019s design brand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The 26,000-square-foot terminal\u2019s butterfly roofs define two pavilions\u2014check-in and international departures\u2014separated by the garden.\ufeff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The arrivals corner vignette comprises a Micasa MCS-65 sofa facing a custom banquette, Est\u00fadio Felipe Madeira\u2019s Pilo side tables, and a tiled wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A pergola-like structure in the international departures pavilion encloses a bar with niche banquettes, 1950s Jos\u00e9 Zanine Caldas\u2019s armchairs, and Pascali Semerdjian\u2019s D\u00e9 magazine-stand side tables.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Get a Platinum Passport to the BTG Pactual VIP Terminal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The pergola\u2019s dining area features Etel Carmona\u2019s AL chairs and Martins and de Oliveira\u2019s Carretel tables while Verde Guatemala forms the bar and side counter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An oil on linen by Brazilian artist Gon\u00e7alo Ivo hangs on the exterior of the pergola, which is wrapped in custom\ufeff pau ferro screens that recall the region’s traditional\ufeff muxarabi latticework and are used throughout the terminal, as is the porcelain tile flooring.\ufeff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Luciana Martins and Gerson de Oliveira\u2019s Trap\u00e9zio lounge chairs await travelers in domestic arrivals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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At night, the S\u00e3o Paulo Airport terminal glows like a lantern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A bathroom\u2019s basin, walls, and floor are clad in Travertine marble.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

PASCALI SEMERDJIAN ARQUITETOS:<\/strong> ISIS GOMES; BRENO PINHEIRO; LUIZA LEITE; JO\u00c3O PAULO MACHADO; LEONARDO GUIMAR\u00c3ES. PERKINS&WILL<\/strong>: DOUGLAS TOLAINE; LARA KAISER; ADRIANA BARBOSA; CASSIA MORAL; GABRIEL FREITAS; GABRIELA VIOTTI; RODRIGO GIANONI; GUSTAVO TEIXEIRA; GUILHERME MENESES; FABIO JUNGSTEDT; FERNANDO HOLANDA; PRISCILA PASQUARELLI; ALICE UEMOTO. SAENG ENGENHARIA:<\/strong> CIVIL ENGINEER. CONTROL TEC:<\/strong> CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

FROM FRONT<\/strong>
SNALDI:<\/strong> FENCING, SOFFIT LINING (EXTERIOR). STUDIO LUCAS CARAM\u00c9S:<\/strong> ARMCHAIRS (CHECK-IN LOUNGE). THROUGH ANTIQU\u00c1RIO CRISTIANO ROSS:<\/strong> VINTAGE SOFA. PSDS:<\/strong> LIGHT COFFEE TABLES. ECOPHON:<\/strong> ACOUSTIC CEILING (CHECK-IN LOUNGE, INT\u2019L LOUNGE). MICASA:<\/strong> MODULAR SOFA (INT\u2019L ARRIVALS). EST\u00daDIO FELIPE MADEIRA:<\/strong> SIDE TABLES. LEPRI:<\/strong> WALL TILE. ETEL:<\/strong> SIDE TABLES, SIDE CHAIRS (PERGOLA). OVO:<\/strong> CAF\u00c9 TABLES (PERGOLA), LOUNGE CHAIRS (DOMESTIC ARRIVALS). BOOBAM:<\/strong> SIDE TABLE (DOMESTIC ARRIVALS). THROUGHOUT STO BRASIL:<\/strong> PLASTER. CLATT TAPETE & CARPETE:<\/strong> RUGS. COLORMIX:<\/strong> FLOOR TILE. GUARDIAN GLASS:<\/strong> GLAZING. CIALUM:<\/strong> WINDOW FRAMES. LABLUZ:<\/strong> EXTERIOR LIGHTING.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n