Sesc Guarulhos

With an extroverted and inviting architectural design, Sesc Guarulhos celebrates six years and surpasses 3 million visits.

Winner of the first public architecture competition held by SESC in 2009, SESC Guarulhos, located in São Paulo, Brazil, designed by Dal Pian Arquitetos, stands out for embracing the local community and creating a seamless connection with the space.

In 2025, the unit will celebrate six years of operation, establishing itself as a key center for culture, sports, health, and leisure in Guarulhos, the second-largest city in the state of São Paulo. The facility also serves residents of the northern zone of São Paulo’s capital, further expanding its regional reach.

With 34,200 m², the space aims to be a democratic and accessible environment, integrating various activities and fostering interaction and socialization among visitors.

“The idea of creating an extroverted building, traversed by the gaze, where you can have perspectives of everything happening, was the essence of the project,” explains Renato Dal Pian, founding partner of the firm.

Distributed across three floors, the complex houses a 349-seat theater, a gymnasium accommodating up to 3,600 people, and an aquatic center, as well as spaces for music and environmental education, a library, gym and exhibition rooms, recreation areas for children and teenagers, a cafeteria, and service areas.

With the capacity to welcome up to 4,000 visitors per day, the unit has already received over 3 million visitors and recorded more than 400,000 enrollments over five years. It has also hosted a wide range of concerts, performances, courses, workshops, and interactive experiences, reaffirming its role as a hub for cultural and social exchange.

An architecture that invites connection

The building’s architecture was designed to engage in dialogue with the heterogeneous, sometimes fragmented and discontinuous, layout of its surrounding landscape. In this way, the project seeks to emphasize SESC’s role as a social communicator and cultural hub, not only through architectural solutions tailored to its specific activities and functions but also by contributing to a more cohesive and unified urban environment.

Internally, the spaces are organized around a central gathering plaza, which channels external flows and serves as the core axis connecting, structuring, and distributing the various activities within the complex.

A transparent and visually permeable space, the integrative plaza reveals the building’s activities and incorporates the surrounding landscape into its interior environments. An integrated roofing system—comprising metal grids, glass, air extractors, and horizontal perforated aluminum louvers—controls natural light intake, optimizes ventilation, and provides solar protection, crowning this airy space with both elegance and efficiency.

Artistic interventions

“The SESC space also allowed for very interesting artistic interventions,” says Lilian Dal Pian, founding partner of the architecture firm.

In the entrance hall, the installation Já estava assim quando cheguei by Carlito Carvalhosa presents a massive plaster block weighing over two tons.

On the second floor, Cores Polvo, a painting by Adriana Varejão, occupies one of the walls, while the gymnasium features the mural Paisagem Desaguando by Janaina Tschäpe. Outside, two sculptures from the Carreteis series by Eduardo Frota complement the collection of artworks incorporated into the Sesc Guarulhos project.

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Technical data:

Project: Sesc Guarulhos
Location: Guarulhos, São Paulo
Project Start: 2009
Completion: 2019
Land Area: 22,017.60 m²
Built Area: 34,200.00 m²

Architecture: Dal Pian Arquitetos - Lilian Dal Pian and Renato Dal Pian (authors)
Paulo Noguer, Luiz Alberto Backheuser, Daniel Made (coordinators)
Adriana Godoy, Amanda Higuti, Ana Lúcia Pialgata, Bruno Pimenta, Carolina Freire, Carolina Fukumoto, Carolina Tobias, Caroline Portugal, Cristiane Sbruzzi, Filomena Piscoletta, Giovana Giosa, João Pires, Júlio Costa, Leona Pellini, Lidia Martello, Liliana Andrade, Luis Taboada, Marcelo Otsuka, Natalie Tchilian, Nathalia Fonseca, Oliver Schpeepmaker, Olívia Costa, Paula Cruz, Rachel Rodorigo, Ricardo Cristoffani, Ricardo Rossin, Thais Dematte, Verónica Antonela (collaborators)

Interior Design: Dal Pian Arquitetos
Landscape Design: Luiz Portugal Albuquerque
Visual Communication: Homem de Melo & Troia Design
Lighting Design: Senzi Lighting
Environmental Comfort: Ambiental Consultoria
Acoustics: Harmonia Acústica
Window Systems Consultancy: Arqmate
Stage Design: Cineplast
Dental Design: Terra Arquitetura
Structural Engineering: Kurkdjian Fruchtengarten Engenheiros Associados
Building Installations & Fire Systems: MBM Engenharia
HVAC Systems: Thermoplan Engenharia Térmica
IT & Networking: Laga Engenharia
Building Automation: Jugend Controle Predial
Paving: LPE Engenharia e Consultoria
Audio & Video: AVM Projetos e Consultoria
Kitchen Design: Machado de Campos
Traffic Impact Analysis: BM&D Consultores Associados
Environmental Compensation: Equality
Vehicle Flow Management: M2 Projetos
Masonry Structure Planning: Glauco Rocha Arquitetura
Waterproofing Consultancy: Proasp Assessoria e Projetos
Vertical Transport Systems: Empro Comércio e Engenharia de Transporte Vertical
Certification Consultancy: CTE
Commissioning: Sustentech Desenvolvimento Sustentável
Earthworks & Drainage: MAG Engenheiros Associados
Soil Testing: Conteste Engenharia e Tecnologia, Soenvil
Topography: Solotec Engenharia
Budgeting: GPS Engenharia
Stone Consultancy: DGG Assessoria
Physical Model: Trivino Maquetes
Animation & Video Editing: ALMA Estúdio
Construction: JWA
Photography: Nelson Kon/SESCSP, Pedro Mascaro/SESCSP (drone)

Suppliers:

ULMA (ventilated theater façade)
Corian-Dupont (counters for the eatery and foyer café, external body of the illuminated scenic box)
Gail (floor and walls of the eatery kitchen, locker room floors, swimming pool cladding)
Deca (sanitary ware and faucets)
Uniflex (blinds and blackouts)
Schüco do Brasil (folding door system)
Sulmetais (metal ceiling, perforated aluminum brise for glass roof)
Hunter Douglas (metal façade cladding)
Hafele (door hardware)
Lisonda (sports court flooring, jogging track, and soccer field)
Colormix (mosaic tiles for eatery walls and internal counter walls)
Eliane (locker room and restroom wall cladding)
Forbo Flooring Systems Brasil (linoleum and self-supporting vinyl flooring)
Tapetes São Carlos (theater carpet)
Kastrup (theater seats)
Tramontina (pool lounge chairs)
Cavaletti Cadeiras Profissionais (chairs for the service center, dental office, and library)
Teto (reclining chairs for the dental office and nursing room)
Weber Saint Gobain Quartzolit (external staircase cladding and textured mortar for theater walls)
Ibratin Tintas e Texturas (granulated acrylic coating for internal and external walls)
Rissi (window frames)
Glassec (glass)
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About Dal Pian Arquitetos

Founded in 1992, Dal Pian Arquitetos emerged from Lilian and Renato Dal Pian’s professional experience in Europe, with time spent in London and Milan. Upon returning to São Paulo, their first recognition came in 1994, securing second place in the revitalization of Poços de Caldas’ city center (MG), followed by first-place awards in projects such as the Reurbanization of the Penha District (SP), the Sanasa Cultural Center (Campinas), the Sanitation Museum (SP), the SESC Guarulhos unit, Natura’s administrative headquarters (Nasp) in São Paulo, the Cultural and Events Center in Paraty, and the Multifunctional Complex of the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUCC).

Participation in competitions, both public and invited, has become one of the firm’s core principles, reflecting its work across different scales and typologies. Continuous research and technical investigation also underpin Dal Pian Arquitetos' practice, structured around two key principles: rigor and sensitivity.

Their connection with academia plays a significant role in this foundation. Lilian Dal Pian taught at the Faculty of Architecture at PUC Campinas, while Renato Dal Pian was a professor in the Department of Architectural Design at Mackenzie University for nearly two decades.

The firm’s achievements reflect its continuous pursuit of excellence, driven by the dedication and expertise of its team.