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Mata Maravilha: project will reforest the heart of the Port Region
Published on 06/04/2025 - 19:31 | Updated on 06/04/2025 - 19:35
Image from the Mata Maravilha project - Reproduction Rio de Janeiro will have two large wooded parks on the shores of Guanabara Bay in the future, which will be part of a large public and private green complex in the Port Region. The Mata Maravilha project was designed to make the city a global epicenter of green technology and innovation. The project was conceived by Al Moinho Empreendimentos Imobiliários, the result of a partnership between businessman Alexandre Allard and Autonomy Capital, and selected by the Public Call for Proposals issued by the City of Rio, through the Companhia Carioca de Parcerias e Investimentos (CCPar), with the aim of transforming the Porto Maravilha region into a district of innovation, vibrant nature and regeneration, with activities for all audiences.
The total area is 223,4 m², and almost half of it will be made up of native vegetation from the Atlantic Forest, in a huge urban reforestation project. The project will combine the most advanced green tech technologies to restore listed areas and cultural heritage sites in the region and create temples of the regenerative economy. In this way, it will return to the population a landscape of local fauna and flora.
– Mata Maravilha has the attributes of a visionary project that adds to the already consolidated success of Porto Maravilha – combining sustainability, innovation and strengthening the development of the port region at the same time. Therefore, the City of Rio will make the necessary efforts to make the project viable through this partnership between the public and private sectors – stated Rio's deputy mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere.
Future stage for the Rio lifestyle and green technology in the Marvelous City
With Mata Maravilha, the Porto Maravilha region will promote the Rio lifestyle and culture in an ecosystem where nature, creativity, gastronomy, fashion, well-being and technology coexist harmoniously. The initiative has the prospect of attracting hundreds of thousands of new visitors to the city and boosting Rio de Janeiro's enormous potential to concentrate the greatest digital nomad talents from around the world, leaders and visionaries willing to rethink the planet.
With Mata Maravilha, the Porto Maravilha region will promote its activities within six “biomes”:
– Gastronomy, with restaurants, fair and organic market, in connection with small local producers
– Fashion, beauty and design, in collaboration with all the creative talents of Rio, with studios, fashion show spaces, among others
– Culture and entertainment, with a cultural center, artistic residencies, galleries, content production studio, digital immersive room, two concert halls
– Longevity, with a meditation temple and the largest movement room in Latin America facing the sea
– Hospitality, with four hotels and residences for 2,5 residents
– Hub Aya, to promote regenerative businesses
The green technology campus, with offices, coworking spaces, incubators and event/convention rooms, was designed to bring together the world's greatest digital talents, leaders and visionaries willing to rethink the planet. Developed in partnership with communities, the project envisages the creation of a university focused on regeneration. All these spaces are connected by 7 km of sand paths within a forest of over 10 hectares and 40 thousand trees and shrubs.
According to the project, this regenerative ecosystem will be designed in a sustainable and scalable way with a green construction and design model, which will ensure high production efficiency and will enhance Artificial Intelligence projects and ventures in Brazil. The new digital zone aims to attract 15 engineers and digital nomads from Brazil and the world to its campus and thus bring some of the largest global technology companies.
– We want to transform Rio into a global center of reference for conscious innovation, taking advantage of the most beautiful city in the world and the unparalleled lifestyle platform of Mata Maravilha to attract technological nomads and consolidate leaders and visionaries who are transforming the planet. We will bring the vibrant nature of the Rio lifestyle to the world, offering the promise of a greener future in one of the most stunning settings on Earth. We have accepted the challenge of revitalizing this place with 130-year-old historic buildings to create a regenerative ecosystem, where the beauty of the Brazilian forests is the path to energizing the creative economy with conscious prosperity, connecting the spirit of the forests with the genius of the most advanced centers of technological innovation – said Alexandre Allard, creator of Mata Maravilha.
Innovative architecture
With zero-carbon construction and operation, Mata Maravilha will be completely autonomous in terms of water and temperature, producing a positive impact with a reduction of up to 8°C. To achieve this ambitious goal, the initiative will have a team made up of renowned Brazilian and international architects, urban planners and engineers. The project is being coordinated by the Safdie Arquitetos firm, responsible for projects such as Singapore's Jewel Changi airport, recognized for its integration with green spaces.
Among the highlights of Mata Maravilha are:
– Harmonia Elevated Park, with elevated walkways above the trees, butterfly farms, organic market, ancestral art village and nature theater, respecting the local heritage site
– Integrated park with mangrove areas and regenerative filtration plants to restore Guanabara Bay
– Residencial Floresta Vertical Mata Atlântica, with two green towers with all sides, from top to bottom, covered by forest
The Rio City Hall issued a Public Call to find companies interested in developing business activities in the area surrounding Moinho Fluminense. The AI Moinho Empreendimento project, by Alex Allard and Autonomy Capital, was the big winner. The first step has already been taken. On Friday (4/4), Mayor Eduardo Paes revoked the declaration of public utility of Moinho Fluminense, in Gamboa. With this, the property returns to the hands of Autonomy Capital.
– We have a transformative vision for the Port region – an area that has been and continues to be the epicenter of the city’s evolution. And this new platform that we are presenting places Rio in a global leadership position in terms of sustainable projects and cities, with a vision for the future. We want to build this together, bringing together public and private entities and everyone who can contribute to the development of this project – explained the municipal secretary of Economic Development, Osmar Lima.
Commitment to Social and Historical Responsibility
The project is committed to the history of the port region. Resistance and anti-racism movements are part of the urban reality of Porto Maravilha. Therefore, local communities will be invited to participate in the revitalization process. Mata Maravilha will have support committees that will discuss the historical, economic and social aspects of the region, in order to respect the logistics of local communities and the Historical Heritage.
About AI Moinho Real Estate Developments
The creator of Mata Maravilha, AI Moinho Empreendimentos Imobiliários aims to make Rio de Janeiro the first “Nature Positive” city in the world and the Porto Maravilha region the stage for a new reality, creating a digital zone for the development of green tech and promoting the Rio lifestyle and culture in an ecosystem where nature, creativity, gastronomy, fashion, well-being and technology coexist harmoniously. With the expertise acquired in the restoration of Cidade Matarazzo, in São Paulo, the largest private initiative of historical heritage in Brazil, the company seeks to rethink urban connection through nature, technology and art. Bringing together creative talents from around the world, AI Moinho develops innovative projects that promote regenerative growth with the application of green technology and redefining new ways of living in urban centers.
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