Archinect - News

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, pioneer of Brazilian architecture, dies at 92

2021-05-24T10:39:00-04:00

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, one of the most acclaimed architects in Brazil and around the world, has passed away at 92. The pioneer of “Brazilian Brutalism” died in São Paulo on Sunday May 23rd, following a battle with lung cancer.

National Coach Museum, 2015. Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Aménio Teixeira. Courtesy of Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Born in 1928, Mendes da Rocha’s career began at the age of 29 when he won a competition to design the gymnasium of the Paulistano Athletics Club. Following the Paulistano Athletics Club, Mendes da Rocha designed many notable projects including the renovation of the Pincoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, and the Patriarch Plaza redevelopment project with its iconic portico. He is considered one of the exponents of the “Paulista School”, a group of modernist architects formed in the 1950s that embraced exposed concrete surfaces, rough finishes, and heavy, brutalist massing.

Paulistano Athletic Club Gymnasium, São Paulo

His cont...

Paulo Mendes de Rocha Awarded Royal Gold Medal by RIBA

2017-02-01T18:02:00-05:00

The Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes de Rocha has been awarded the prestigious Royal Gold Medal by he Royal Institute of British Architects. Presented on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, the medal is given in recognition of a person or group of person who has, over the course of a lifetime, “either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture”.

Mendes da Rocha was born in Vitória, Brazil in 1928. Considered one of the foremost Brazilian architects alive today, he pioneered a unique national version of Brutalism, employing exposed concrete structures and rough finishes. The vast majority of his work is in Brazil.

“Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s work is highly unusual in comparison to the majority of the world’s most celebrated architects,” states RIBA President and chair of the selection committee Jane Duncan. “He is an architect with an incredible international reputation, yet almost all his masterpieces are built exclusively in his home country. Revolutionary and transformative...

This week's picks for London architecture and design events

2017-01-23T14:39:00-05:00

This week brings a full diary of talks from successful and inspiring architects and theorists. Largely focusing on the question of city-living, the week's overarching theme is one of discussing the future of the way we live, and how we design our urban landscapes.

Check back regularly to keep up to date with London's latest happenings and our weekly recommendations!

LSE Cities Public Lecture | Building Knowledge | Anupama Kundoo | 24 January

AND

The Quito Papers: towards the open city (London) | 31 January

Image Javier Callejas

LSE have started up their lecture series for the year, inviting the public to join them at their campus for talks from notable professionals in their fields. On the 24th, Architect Anupama Kundoo will discuss the issues facing those who live in cities, visiting key issues of resources, community and affordability. Next week's film screening and following discussion continues the theme of cities, this time focusing on the masterplanning and utopian ideals of arch...

Paulo Mendes da Rocha wins RIBA Royal Gold Medal

2016-09-29T14:11:00-04:00

Paulo Mendes da Rocha is attracting international recognition once again as he continues to rack up top-tier lifetime achievement awards this year. [...] Awarded since 1848 and approved by the Queen of England, the Gold Medal is awarded to an individual or a group of people who have significantly influenced “the advancement of architecture either directly or indirectly”. da Rocha is the second Brazilian architect to win the accolade, joining Oscar Niemeyer who won it in 1998.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha is most known for his work establishing what would become Brazilian Brutalism. From Bustler:

Spearheading the Brutalist movement in his native Sao Paulo, da Rocha is credited for transforming the city with his numerous cultural buildings, which are typically designed in exposed concrete and rough finishes. Born in 1928, da Rocha's architecture career kicked off at a young age when he won the competition to design the gymnasium in the Paulistano Athletics Club (pictured [below]) at age 29.

On the occasion of da Rocha's win, RIBA President and chair of the selection committee Jane Duncan said, "Mendes da Rocha’s work typifies the architecture of 1950s Brazil – raw, chunky and beautifully ‘brutal’ concrete.” Some of his most notable Brazilian projects being: Saint Peter Chapel (1987) [below], the Brazilian Sculpture Museum MuBE (1988), Patriach Plaza (1992-2002), the Pinacoteca do Estado gallery (1993) [second below] and the FIESP Cultural Center (1997).

da Rocha exp...

Steven Holl, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and ADC Young Guns are among this week's winners

2016-09-20T19:30:00-04:00

Every week, we highlight some of the most recent news in competition-winning projects, commissions, awards, shortlists, and events on Bustler from the previous week that are worth checking out.

Check out recap #125 for the week of September 12-16, 2016.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha wins 2016 Praemium Imperiale Award

Pritzker laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha will receive yet another prestigious prize: the Japan Art Association's 2016 Praemium Imperiale Award. Recent winners of the architecture award include Dominique Perrault and Steven Holl.

Steven Holl named 2016 Daylight Award Architecture laureate

Speaking of Steven Holl, he was named the Architecture laureate of the 2016 Daylight Award for his “experiential and emotive architecture” through light. The Research Award will go to Marilyne Andersen, Dean of the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering at EPFL.

Winners of the 2016 ADC Young Guns Award

Every year, the Art Directors Club distinguishes rising creative talent under ag...

Paulo Mendes da Rocha wins the 2016 Praemium Imperiale Award

2016-09-13T14:39:00-04:00

A few months after winning the honorable 2016 Venice Biennale Golden Lion, Pritzker laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha was announced today as the architecture recipient of the Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award for 2016. Comparable to the Nobel Peace Prize in prestige, the Praemium award celebrates extraordinary [lifetime] achievement [in the arts].

Well known for his elegant use of concrete and steel, here's a peek at some of da Rocha's projects:

National Coach Museum, 2015. Lisbon, Portugal

Patriarch Square Portico, 2002. São Paulo, Brazil

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 1993, São Paulo, Brazil. Courtesy of Japan Art Association

More details on Bustler.

Previously on Archinect:

Dominique Perrault presented with the 2015 Praemium Imperiale gold medal for architecture

Steven Holl receives Praemium Imperiale International Arts medal for architecture

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Ultramoderne, and Wilton's Music Hall are among this week's many winners

2016-05-09T13:18:00-04:00

At the start of every week, we highlight some of the most recent news in competition-winning projects, commissions, awards, shortlists, and events on the newly redesigned Bustler from the previous week that are worth checking out.

Here's recap #107 for the week of May 2-6, 2016.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha wins the 2016 Venice Biennale Golden Lion

2006 Pritzker laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be presented with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on opening day of the 2016 Venice Biennale later this month. The Board of Directors noted the Sao Paulo architect for the timeless quality of his designs.

Closer look: COBE + MVRDV’s rockin’ new Ragnarock museum in Roskilde

COBE and MVRDV joined forces to design the new Ragnarock, a museum where rock, pop, and youth culture are housed under one roof. The museum is part of the larger ROCKmagneten masterplan that the architects won in 2011.

Santiago Calatrava to design falcon-like UAE Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai

Not long after winning the Dubai ...

Paulo Mendes da Rocha named as 2016 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement winner

2016-05-06T14:17:00-04:00

2006 Pritzker laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be honored with the 2016 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during opening day of the 2016 Venice Biennale on May 28. Upon the recommendation of Biennale Curator Alejandro Aravena, the Board of Directors decided on Mendes da Rocha's selection as the 2016 winner.

Noted by The Board of Directors as “a nonconformist challenger and passionate realist”, Mendes da Rocha was also cited for the “Timelessness” of his architecture. “Many decades after being built, each of his projects have resisted the test of time, both stylistically and physically...The role model he played for many generations of architects in Brazil, Latin America and everywhere is that of a person able to join shared and collective efforts.”

Not long after graduating from the Mackenzie Architecture School in 1954, Mendes da Rocha first gained public recognition when he won the 1957 national competition to design the Clube Atlético Paulistano gymnasium. As the winner of n...

Paulo Mendes da Rocha: in step with the cosmos

2007-11-26T13:07:00-05:00

The LA Times on the Brazilian architect, in words and images.