A Day In São Paulo is the first book in the Day by Day book series. This series offers an inspirational outlook on the artistic and creative expressions in the cities worldwide. A Day In São Paulo tells a story that goes beyond individual styles in order to show the collective impact of urban visual artists on the way we encounter our surroundings. You can order A Day In São Paulo for 29,95 euro at here

The first seven arches have been fully restored to their original monumental state. The existing interior has been completely stripped, the reinforcement has been cleaned and the concrete of the vaults and columns repaired to prepare the spaces for the new Mini Mall Shopping Mall. A nightclub, restaurants, coffee bars and creative retail are connected by a internal event space. The exterior facades will create transparency and add a new visual layer to the urban space.

Client: De Hofbogen B.V.
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 2500 m2
Completion date: Under construction, planned spring 2011
Scope of work: Architectural Design, Interior design, Urban Design, Content development, Identity & Marketing development.

Even though it’s a well known fact that space is at a premium in Tokyo, the suspicion that everything was intertwined and connected to the lack of urban space in the city led us to explore this subject further. This is a story about how the structural space deficit in Tokyo has shaped the city, its architecture and the quality of life of those who live in it. The long hours of commuting; the impossibility of living in Tokyo’s city center; the lack of affordable space for small-scale entrepreneurs, are all deficiencies in Tokyo’ s urban fabric. Urban deficiencies that set the conditions for a city in which the quality of life of the inhabitants is no longer dependent on the quality of the urban surroundings but rather, on the comfort and convenience offered by Tokyo’s massive service industry.

You can download a condensed version of this special bi-lingual Japanese/English publication here

Client: Toko 94
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 250m2
Completion date: Under construction, planned fall 2010
Description of work: Architectural Design

The program was divers, a restaurant, offices, dressing rooms, backstage, 3 theater rooms, a sound studio and a lot of storage. For the main theater hall a floating steel structure with sliding doors was to be erected and for the dressing rooms and backstage another steels structure. The concept was to create a certain transparency about what goes on behind the scenes in a theater. It was also important to design the flexibility to use the spaces for other type of events into it.

The main theater hall was no black box, it got his character from strong graphic prints custom-made by AFARAI. As is the reality of an architect at times, after 2 years of hard work the design was abandoned and was never built. But the work we created, lives on for ever!

Client: Cosmic Foundation
Location: Amsterdam The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 1800 m2

AFARAI & The Ultra de la Rue Foundation collaborated with Rio based artist 6ragga in this special project; Graffiti Conquers Canvas. Alongside 6ra99a’s personal process to go from figurative based graffiti to abstract work, he started to experiment with techniques that would enable him to capture the energy that his work had in the urban environment onto canvas. This new way of working is in now full motion. And during his stay in Amsterdam in August of 2009 6ra99a shared his new technique for the first time outside of Brazil. A blank wall on the Java eiland was covered with canvasses. The wall and the canvasses are equal to each other and therefore capture the same energy and quality as the graffiti piece on the wall.

You can view the full publication here. All canvasses in the catalogue are for sale. For price inquiries contact, AFARAI at me@afarai.com.

Via online promotion and word of mouth through our local network we created a buzz that attracted over 1200 people. The production was a challenge since the garage had no heat or electricity, but we managed to create a warm atmosphere and nice vibe. We want to say thanks to the great dj’s, musicians, the American Book Center, K-Space and everybody who participated or came out to share in this wonderful event!

Location: Wijdesteeg Parking, Amsterdam
Visitors: 1220
Sponsor: Woonstichting De Key
Scope of Work: Event Direction, Identity development, PR, Event production

For this special show a former public building in the heart of Amsterdam that was empty, was invaded and brought to life again. Now numerous creative events are taken place that have made this location a part of Amsterdam’s city life again. The building on the Prins Hendrikkade 33 is now renovated into a brand new Art’Otel.

Location: Art’Otel, Amsterdam
Visitors: 1204
Sponsors: Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts, Topstad Amsterdam, Art’Otel
Scope of Work: Event Direction, Curator, PR, Event production