For some companies that have product development,

production and sales services at the same time,

it is necessary to have a single-family office building,

which will help integrate resources and improve communication efficiency.

Brazil’s [Ipanema Coffees] is one such company, located in Minas Gerais.

This building that looks like a chocolate pile is the integrated office building of [Ipanema Coffees],

 which produces and sells specialty coffees around the world.

Since sustainability is a prerequisite for architectural design,

the company owners decided to use containers to build their new office buildings,

creating an influential combination of containers.

Based on this concept, the Sartori design team conceived the architectural

structure of Ipanema Coffee Lab by stacking seven containers.

All seven containers are treated with PET wool,

a sustainable material that replaces rock and glass wool.

In addition, the building also has a green roof anaerobic biological digestion system,

which can reprocess water used for garden irrigation,

and photovoltaic panels are also other sustainable attributes of the project.

Since the container originally has a very unique shape,

the overall design effect tends to be a combination of industrialization and minimalism.

The ceiling of the middle building is very high,

and the glass screen sees through the entire metal staircase,

and you can see the coffee bean plantation in front.

The coffee research and development room is set in the container behind the stairs.

It is a place where you can taste, sort and control the quality of coffee.

With this as the center, you can easily reach the functional areas at both ends of the building.

On one side is the office for employees, which is spacious and bright;

on the other side is the showroom and tasting room for visitors,

which is warm and rustic. In order to highlight the sustainable design concept,

some furniture is made of old coffee tree trunks,

such as the round table in the tasting room.

Pictures courtesy of  Ipanema Coffees