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At least 1,200 protesters were detained for questioning in the wake of the storming of Brazil’s capital buildings, a spokesman for the civil police said on Monday, as the authorities began dismantling the tent city where supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president, had been camping out since he lost October’s election. — The New York TImes
Among the buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer reported to be damaged are the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), National Congress building, and the Supreme Court, which several outlets reported were the primary target of protesters that had camped out in the capital for weeks... View full entry
Pelé was a footballer like no other, and his final resting place will be exceptional too: a large replica stadium complete with artificial turf inside the world’s tallest vertical cemetery.
The Brazilian football great, whose funeral was held Tuesday, bought his mausoleum 19 years ago inside the Memorial Ecumenical Cemetery, a high-rise building that holds the Guinness world record as the tallest cemetery in the world.
— The Guardian
The “King of Football’s” 2,152-square-foot crypt is located inside the 32-story, 430,000-square-foot first-ever vertical cemetery in the world that features amenities like a 24/7 restaurant and indoor aviary. Pelé said the apartment block-esque building offered more “spiritual peace... View full entry
Four years after a devastating blaze wiped out the majority of its incredible 20 million-object collection, the rebuilding of Brazil’s fire-damaged National Museum has reached an important construction milestone in Rio de Janeiro. According to The Art Newspaper, local firms Velatura... View full entry
A unique hexagonal residential building equipped with a distinctive aluminum “second skin” by Gisele Borges Arquitetura has risen in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Influenced by Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer, the architects created a V-shaped pillar in order to... View full entry
Safdie Architects has completed a new verdant medical school and research building with a distinctive domed glass roof in São Paulo. Conceived as an urban oasis, the Albert Einstein Education and Research Center (AEERC) is the latest initiative of Brazilian healthcare institute Sociedade... View full entry
A symbolic new communal space is coming to the Brazilian city of Varginha, Minas Gerais State thanks to a new design from Perkins&Will. The 85-year-old firm is responsible for a new pastoral pavilion that it says will become an ecumenical space within the country’s coffee capital. Image courtesy... View full entry
Brasília’s design limitations offer a crucial lesson for many other cities. By resisting the temptation to fill every square inch of space on their paper and instead leaving as many blank areas as possible, architects and urban planners can allow people and changing times to co-create a city as spontaneous as life. — Project Syndicate
Carlo Ratti revealed plans last year for a one-million-square-meter extension of Brasília dubbed BIOTIC. Oscar Niemeyer's UNESCO World Heritage Site has been in disrepair for several decades. The whole text of Ratti's essay can be found here. View full entry
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... View full entry
The MIT Senseable City Lab has unveiled their “Favelas 4D” project, dedicated to mapping the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Using 3D laser scanning technology to analyze the urban landscape of Rocinha, the project seeks to understand and quantify the architectural logic of one of... View full entry
The late Lina Bo Bardi is a prolific architect, designer, editor, and curator. Even after her passing, her work continues to be an example for others to take note of. Her legacy reminds the industry that at the center of design is bringing communities together. Hashim Sarkis, 2021 curator of the... View full entry
This is a good year to visit Niemeyer’s work since it marks the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of Brasília, the gleaming new capital of Brazil masterplanned by Lúcio Costa and designed by Niemeyer, built from scratch in barely four years and completed in 1960. I finally had my chance to visit the mother lode. — The Guardian
For The Guardian, Chris Hall on Oscar Niemeyer's modernist architectural legacy in Brazil, and arguably his greatest achievement — designing (with Lúcio Costa) the country's built-from-scratch capital Brasília six decades ago. "If Rio is a creased duvet with the built environment and... View full entry
Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has released a statement explaining his reasoning behind the decision to meet with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro last week. In the statement, Ingels, founder and creative partner at the multi-national architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), explains... View full entry
This week Consultatio Real Estate and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) released renderings for Catalinas Rio, a waterfront office building designed to become the center of activity in Buenos Aires' Catalinas Norte business district expansion. As two adjacent towers, one rising 29 floors... View full entry
For the past few weeks, the media has slowly increased its coverage of the devastating fires being intentionally set in the Amazon rainforest. Besides the politically charged issues and highly questionable leadership in Brazil, matters like this can quickly become headline news that leaves people... View full entry
In the height of daytime, the sky suddenly blackened, and day became night in Sao Paulo.
Sure, smog is bad in the Western Hemisphere’s largest city, where traffic jams can stretch for dozens of miles. But not this bad. What was going on? Was the end near?
— The Washington Post
A combination of meteorological events paired with smoke that had traveled hundreds of miles from intense forest fires in remote parts of the Amazon caused a period of sudden midday darkness in the most populous city in the Western Hemisphere on Monday, reports The Washington Post. Meanwhile on... View full entry
