This piece of Brazilian architecture was conceived in 1961 by São Paulo architects João Batista Vilanova Artigas and Carlos Cascaldi. Together with the architectural movement of the Paulista School, they form part of the most important history of São Paulo, because of the large amount of works they constructed there and the recognition of many of them at an international level.
The project is based on the idea of generating spatial continuity. Therefore, its six levels are linked by a system of ramps in an attempt to give the feeling of a single plane and favor continuous routes, increasing the degree of coexistence and interaction among those who use it.
The space is open and integrated, avoiding divisions and making it a functional place. It was imagined as a large, free, and central space with its functional areas distributed all around.
There are no entrance doors or small spaces, the intention being the generation of a space in where you can perform any activity that you need to.
Concrete in appearance with simple finishes, the building responds to the characteristics of a space suitable for a school of architecture, as a place of practice and learning for students.
The structure needed to express the grace with which the materials give shape to the building, in addition to allowing ample lights and simple shapes to highlight the image of the building’s lightness, despite the weight and the force that it exerts on its environment, which makes it resemble Brutalism architecture.
The architects, the founders of the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo, adopted the reinforced concrete as a plastic and constructive language that gives rise to volumes sustained in complex structures of great light. Based on the technical possibilities of the material, its projects and works entail a willingness to be examples of contributing to the technical and social development of the country, and the city of São Paulo’s ambition to be the economic and industrial center of Brazil.
Architect: João Vilanova Artigas - Carlos Cascaldi Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Project Year: 1961 - 1968 Structure: Escritorio Figueiredo Ferraz Construction: Administration of the Cidade Universitária ANR
Reference images: Courtesy of OWAR Arquitectos, Flickr Fernando Stankuns, FADB and thefuturistics
