Who is Vokkan: from accounting in Itapema to the first park neighborhood
The story of Vokkan, the company behind Vivapark, told by founder Roderjan Volaco: its origins, Jaime Lerner, Porto Belo before Navegantes, and what's next.
On a Saturday at Vivapark Porto Belo, you see families in the park, people running around the lake, and kids on the playground. Few people know it all started in an accounting office in Itapema, in 1990.
The company behind the neighborhood is Vokkan, founded in 2015 by Roderjan Volaco. In an interview with the podcast Segredos Imobiliários, by DW, he told the whole story: where the idea came from, why the first neighborhood is in Porto Belo, and what comes next. We brought together what he said with what the media and Vokkan itself published on a new page of the portal: Who is Vokkan.
From accounting to urban design
Roderjan came to the coast in 1990 and opened an accounting office. The office grew by serving the construction industry in the region, and many of Itapema's builders had their bylaws drafted there. Today, Grupo Roderjan manages 300 condominiums and serves more than 18 thousand condo owners.
For decades he preferred not to compete with his own clients. About ten years ago he found a way: instead of a building, an entire planned neighborhood, something the region didn't have. Vokkan was born, with his daughters Monica and Jessica, his sons-in-law Julio and Rafael, and André Miranda, invited from the start.
The diagnosis that gave rise to Vivapark
People come to the coast for the beach, but according to him, the waterfront has two limits: the physical one, because the space facing the sea runs out, and the financial one, because living there is expensive. Fifty meters inland, the buildings are packed together and get almost no sun.
Vivapark was designed for the opposite: buildings with sun and wind on all sides, space between people, and schools, universities, health, and leisure within a 7 to 10 minute walk. The masterplan is by Jaime Lerner, who, according to Roderjan, wasn't taking on large projects anymore, but accepted this one because he'd always wanted to design a neighborhood with the sea in front and mountains in the background.
Why Porto Belo came first
The first area studied was in Navegantes, with nearly 4 million m². There, licensing and an outdated master plan for more than 20 years dragged the process out. In Porto Belo, the city government, the Public Ministry, and community organizations understood the project quickly. That's why the first Vivapark is here.
The numbers so far
- 2020: work begins; the first lots sell out in 7 hours.
- 2022: LEED Platinum, the first in the world in the neighborhood planning category.
- 2023: delivery of the 1st phase, with Parque Viva Energia.
- 2025: R$ 2 billion in sales and the Master Real Estate Award, from FIABCI-Brasil and Secovi-SP.
- 2026: delivery of the 1st expansion, with Parque Viva Equilíbrio, and 1st place in the City'scape Award for landscaping.
What comes next
In Porto Belo, phases 1, 2, and 3 are underway, and Roderjan's goal is to see the neighborhood complete in 15 years. In Navegantes, Vokkan is preparing a neighborhood with 3 million m² with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and the FGMF and VOO offices, awaiting city approval.
The full story, with a timeline, who runs the company, and the most common questions, is at Who is Vokkan. To see what's for sale today in the neighborhood, check the complete list or talk to Pricila on WhatsApp (47) 99953-6922, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish.
Sources: podcast Segredos Imobiliários (DW), with Roderjan Volaco; Vokkan; Visor Notícias; ND+; Revista Haus; Forbes.
