Video

Is there a solution for São Paulo’s Minhocão?

The Minhocão is an elevated highway in São Paulo, Brazil, that cuts through the city center for 3.4 kilometers, crossing dense neighborhoods full of housing, shops, and services. It was built in the early 1970s with a clear goal: keep cars moving. At the time, it was seen as a symbol of progress and efficiency. Solving traffic meant making space for the machine.

The problem is that a city is not just about traffic flow.

Over the years, this elevated highway stopped being just an expressway and started shaping the daily life of the people who live and work around it. In many sections, the structure runs at the same height as apartment windows. Noise is constant. Natural light is reduced. Ventilation gets worse, and pollution ends up trapped under the concrete deck.

Beyond the environmental issues, there is a social dimension. The Minhocão affects property values, who stays and who leaves, and the local economic dynamics. It is not just reinforced concrete. It is an urban decision that has shaped the city center for decades.

Today, the debate about its future is gaining momentum—and it’s no longer just about keeping or removing the structure. It’s about defining what kind of city we want to build from here on. A city organized around cars or around people? A city that prioritizes speed or urban quality?

This discussion brings together technical criteria, public policy, the real estate market, and mobility. And whatever decision is made now will shape São Paulo for a long time.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch the full video to understand how the Minhocão was built, the impacts it has accumulated over the years, and the paths currently being discussed for its future.

Disclaimer: The video is in Brazilian Portuguese, but simultaneous translation and subtitles are available in multiple languages.

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News

Construction is racing toward Net-Zero buildings

The construction sector has officially entered the zero-carbon era. An industry that today accounts for 32% of global energy consumption and 34% of operational CO₂ emissions is going through a structural transformation.

By 2060, the world is expected to add around 230 billion square meters of new buildings—roughly doubling the current global building stock. If this growth follows the traditional model, the climate impact will be unsustainable. That is why energy efficiency is no longer just a technical advantage. It has become an economic strategy and a public policy priority.

In 2023, one data point in the United Nations Environment Programme report caught the attention of experts: the sector’s growth began to decouple from the rise in emissions. This is a clear sign that it is possible to build more while emitting less—provided the project logic changes at its core.

• The Net-Zero concept is straightforward: over the course of a year, a building should generate the same amount of energy it consumes.

Passive design strategies—such as proper solar orientation, cross-ventilation, thermal mass, and shading—can reduce energy demand by up to 30% without relying on mechanical systems. Instead of compensating for design mistakes with powerful equipment, the building starts working with the local climate.

In Norway, for example, the Powerhouse Brattørkaia produces more energy than it consumes, even in a subarctic climate. In the United Arab Emirates, the BEEAH Group headquarters, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, operates with integrated solar energy and net-zero emissions in the middle of the desert. These examples show that the decisive factor is not the climate, but the design strategy.

After reducing demand, energy integration technologies come into play: solar panels built into façades, smart glazing, occupancy sensors, and AI-based building management systems. Studies by ASHRAE indicate that automation alone can cut an additional 25% of energy use, turning buildings from pure consumers into active energy producers and managers.

And the market seems to have understood this shift. The global Net-Zero buildings sector moved around USD 46 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow rapidly through 2030. High-performance buildings show higher asset value, lower vacancy rates, and reduced regulatory risk. In many countries, new regulations already require high energy performance standards.

The construction industry is moving away from a model based on intensive energy consumption toward one based on efficiency, electrification, and local renewable generation.