ARKIZ is a architecture and urban design studio located in São Paulo, Brazil, devoted to developing innovative projects and guided by a collaborative and critical attitude.
Founded in 2010 by architects Alexandre Hepner, João Paulo Payar and Rafael Brych, the studio has developed projects of several different typologies, including housing, commercial, mixed-use, and institutional projects such as libraries and museums. The studio works’ encompass many different scales, ranging from interior design to large urban projects and masterplans, in locations in Brazil and abroad.
The studio’s practice is marked by experimental and theoretical engagement, supported by the pursuit of efficient and environmentally responsible design methods. Technical exploration, theoretical debate and interdisciplinary collaboration are central themes in Estúdio ARKIZ’s projects.
With this in mind, its partners have been actively devoted to intellectual and academic production, having graduated from the Graduate Schools of Architecture of the University of São Paulo and the Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, and the Architectural Association in London.
ARKIZ has received increasing national and international recognition through competitions, awards and publications. Some of the studio’s projects have been published in books and magazines in Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom and China. In 2010 the studio received the prestigious New Practices São Paulo award, granted to most promising young architectural practices in Brazil.
