Workspaces look upon a mini jungle in this 125-year-old brick building in Manaus, Brazil, which has been thoughtfully revitalised by design studio Laurent Troost Architectures.
Called the Cassina Innovation House, the project entailed the adaptive reuse of a dilapidated historic structure in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas.
Cassina Innovation House sits in a 125-year-old building
The building, which now serves as a co-working venue, is located in an emerging digital district within the city. Its name was selected through a public vote organized by the municipality, which owns the building.
Its original structure was constructed in the late 1890s to house the luxurious Hotel Cassina, owned by an Italian man named Andrea Cassina.
The building was abandoned and taken over by vegetation After a financial crisis devastated the region, the building became a spot for gambling and prostitution called Cabaré Chinelo.
It closed around 1960 and began to deteriorate, according to local firm Laurent Troost Architectures.
Laurent Troost Architectures inserted a prefabricated steel structure
Over the decades, the interior crumbled and vegetation overtook the building, resulting in a striking visual image that the architect wanted to honour in some way.
Troost said that artists and designers have long been intrigued by ruins, citing figures such as Piranesi, Gordon Matts-Clark and Robert Smithson.
Greenery and exposed walls evoke the building's crumbling grandeur
"The be...