Yachthouse by Pininfarina

History

Inspired by the nautical universe, Yachthouse was born from a site decision: to build a residential development next to Marina Tedescoi, in Barra Sul, where the Camboriú River meets the sea — with a sea view on one side and the Atlantic Forest and the river on the other. From there come the name, the concept and the building’s hull-like façade, designed by Pininfarinai, the Turin house that signs Ferrari and made Brazil its main residential market in the world.

The construction is by Pasqualotto & GTi, the local builder whose name brings together the firm’s two managing partners, Alcino Pasqualotto Neto and Geninho Thomé. Foundation work began in 2012, with 925 piles at an average depth of 28 metres and around 1,125 tonnes of steel; concrete pouring began in November 2014 and made history in Brazilian engineering. The 81st and final floor was reached in October 2019.

In May 2024, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) confirmed, in its periodic update, that the tallest buildings in Brazil are the two Yachthouse towers, at 294.1 and 294 metres.

• Concept: the building as vessel — an aerodynamic hull, two flats per floor with views to both sides and direct nautical access via the adjoining marina.
• Trivia: the Yachthouse foundation is, according to the builder, the largest single concrete pour of a building in Brazil, with 8,808 m³ of concrete. The outrigger oscillation-damping system was applied there for the first time in a Brazilian residential building. In 2020 the project received The American Architecture Awards, from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the only Brazilian entry on that edition’s list.

Architecture and aesthetics

The Pininfarinai signature here is not façade decoration: it is a hull. The towers are wrapped in 32,000 m² of glass skin whose continuous-line design came from the studio’s automotive repertoire — the same vocabulary of curve and taper the house applies to a Ferrari, stretched over 294 metres of height. In two twin towers, separated by around eleven metres, the effect is of two parallel hulls.

The floor plan is square, a rare decision for a tall tower and made to perform: with two flats per floor, each has twenty metres of sea-facing frontage and the same depth, allowing panoramic views of the sea on one side and the forest and marina on the other, with internal circulation area under six square metres. Each flat has a private hall and two exclusive lifts, giving the resident the feel of one flat per floor. The ceiling height is 3.30 m slab to slab, 2.85 m clear.

Aesthetics and scarcity

Technical specifications

• Towers and units: 2 twin towers of 81 floors each, with 264 flats in total — 2 per floor —, of which 4 are quadruplex penthouses, from 905.15 m² to 1,033.00 m².
• Sizes: standard flat of 265 m² of private area, with a 52.58 m² sea-facing living room, a 13 m² gourmet space facing the forest and marina, a 17 m² semi-integrated kitchen, a guest toilet, a 7.68 m² service area, a 3.17 m² technical area and a 7.55 m² staff room with bathroom.
• Suites: 4 per flat — a 26.15 m² master, delivered with a whirlpool bath, a 25.04 m² semi-master and two conventional ones, of 14.50 m² and 13.63 m².
• Parking: across 7 basement levels.
• Heights: 294.1 m and 294 m, confirmed by the CTBUH in May 2024 as the tallest in Brazil.
• Lifts: 22 in total — 10 high-performance ones, at 6 metres per second, and 12 support lifts; the trip from ground floor to the top residential floor takes around 45 seconds. Two lifts serve each flat exclusively, arriving directly at the floor’s hall.
• Structural highlights: a 7,536 m² plot with 140 metres of base frontage, 100 metres from the sea · 139,628.90 m² of built area · 7 basement levels · 32,000 m² glass skin with thermoacoustic sealing and comfort · outrigger oscillation-damping system, the first application in a residential building in Brazil · two helipads certified by ANAC, for aircraft with up to eight seats · exclusive nautical access via Marina Tedescoi · infrastructure for central vacuum, automation, air conditioning and underfloor heating in the bathrooms.
• Safety: sprinklers throughout the flats · pressurised stairwells · lifts enabled for rapid evacuation in any situation · facial recognition for access to the leisure areas.
• Finishes: 120x80 Indian porcelain tile in the flat’s common areas, vinyl in the private area, solid laminated wood Trada doors.
• Registry and parameters: condominium building in Barra Sul, municipality of Balneário Camboriúi · official postal district: Centro, postcode 88330-123 · registry jurisdiction of Balneário Camboriú.

Leisure and facilities

10,000 m² leisure area, spread across two floors.

• Leisure 1, on the 7th floor — entertainment: 5 heated outdoor pools, split between family, youth, kids and baby, plus an adult pool with infinity edge and spa · official-size multi-sports court, at 502 m² · panoramic bar with views of the forest, the marina and the city · fire pit plaza · support bar for the family area · playground · children’s sports court
• Under the towers’ projection, covered: classic bistro restaurant with year-round operation · adult games room · nightclub-bar with acoustic insulation, lighting and sound · function rooms 1 and 2, which can be combined, at around 400 m² for 150 to 160 people · teen games room · VIP cinema · children’s function room · children’s playroom
• Leisure 2, on the 8th floor — health: 319 m² gym, equipped with the Life Fitness line · pilates space · stretching space · women’s and men’s changing rooms · adult pool between the towers, with glass roof · covered children’s pool
• Two helipads certified by ANAC
• Exclusive access to Marina Tedescoi

Location and surroundings

Points of interest · distances in metres

Balneário Camboriú: the address

Balneário Camboriúi is not a neighbourhood: it is the Santa Catarina city that made verticalisation an economic project and ended up with the most recognisable skyline on the Brazilian coast — a continuous wall of towers facing a crescent-shaped beach. Barra Sul, where the Camboriú River meets the sea, is the newest and most expensive vector of that race: it concentrates the marinas, the nautical access and the new generation of internationally signed towers, with the Atlantic Forest of the hillside behind and the sea in front. Density has a price — the wall of towers shades the sand strip in the late afternoon, and what can be built at the front is a permanent political matter in the city. Here, though, the equation is different: between the tower and the sea there is the marina and a hundred metres; and in front, the river.