REI PELÉ PARK

Along 600 meters of Avenida Presidente Kennedy, the Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Rei Pelé Municipal Park redesigns one of the main urban strips of São Caetano do Sul. The project, signed by Mario Biselli, managing partner of Biselli Katchborian, in partnership with the office Acorde Arquitetura e Integração (Consonant Architecture and Integration), transforms a previously fragmented area into a linear park of more than 37 thousand square meters, articulating public facilities, leisure areas and living spaces

Going beyond its function, the Rei Pelé Park represents an urban operation of reconnection, between previously isolated spaces, different scales of the city and, above all, between people and the territory. Started in 2022 and completed in 2024, the park was born from the need to give new use to old clubs and institutional areas, promoting the integration between culture, sport, education and leisure.

"The interpretation of the city hall that it should be a place for leisure was right. There is already the habit of freeing up the space for pedestrians on Sundays, for example, in addition to the proximity to the various quality equipment on the other side of the avenue", reveals Mario Biselli.

Implanted in a valley bottom, the park follows the course of the Córrego dos Moinhos (creek), which runs under President Kennedy Avenue. Based on the topographic conditions of the terrain, the project organizes the program on plateaus interconnected by ramps and passages, ensuring fluidity and accessibility along the entire route. The solution transforms the natural unevenness into an element of urban design, using geography itself as a tool for connecting the edges of the avenue and the different public facilities.

One of the main challenges of the project was to stitch together the set of institutions already existing in the so-called Santa Maria Complex, which includes the Paulo Machado de Carvalho Theater, the EMEI Cleide Rosa Auricchio, the Children's Park and the future Complex of Integral Care for People with Disabilities. To connect these points, the new park acts as a green spine, offering continuity to the routes and expanding the public use of previously underused areas.

"First we thought about how to reestablish the connection of the land, previously with high and extensive walls, with its surroundings. From this came the master lines for the design of the floors and the organization in plateaus. We worked on the edges to mitigate the impact of the avenue on the landscape and to give some privacy to the residences in the immediate surroundings of the park." describes Victor Piza, architect partner of Consonant Architecture and Integration.

The solution to cross President Kennedy Avenue without interrupting the urban flow resulted in one of the most striking elements of the complex: an elevated walkway that connects the two sides of the park and becomes an urban viewpoint, from where you can observe the landscape and the vitality of the city.

With a controlled public budget, the project adopts simple and durable materials, such as exposed concrete, interlocking blocks and painting, valuing everyday use. The careful detailing and precise design of the spaces ensure comfort, diversity and clarity in the reading of the set. Among the new equipment, the professional skate park, sports courts, playground, dog park, jogging track, sculpture square and the requalified municipal market stand out.

The latter occupies the Barcelona Multipurpose Space, where the old circular structure of a gymnasium has been reinterpreted: the roof and bleachers have been removed, and the space has now housed shops and commercial activities, integrating leisure and the local economy. The solution reinforces the role of the park as a new urban centrality, bringing commerce and coexistence closer together.

With the Rei Pelé Park, São Caetano do Sul gains a contemporary and structuring public space, dialoguing with the urban fabric of the city. By creating continuity between public facilities, open spaces and commercial fronts, the project introduces a new centrality capable of radiating vitality to the surroundings and redefining the city's relationship with its collective spaces.