Brazilian Brutalism: An analysis of Brutalism in the context of Brazil.

The dissertation is centred on Brutalism in the context of Brazil, and aims to discover the essence of Brazilian Brutalism through an analysis of essential characteristics of the buildings researched. The term Brutalism has been used to refer to a widespread selection of modern architecture from the 1950s to the 1980s. The study argues that Brutalism in Brazil, although similar in aesthetics to other Brutalisms around the world, is native to the country.

A recent ‘aestheticisation’ of Brutalism has seen the popularity of these buildings grow on social media. However, there is little knowledge outside Brazil regarding the context of these buildings, their purpose in the urban fabric and how they are inhabited and experienced. Field work in Brazil, which included visiting the buildings and interviewing key academics and architects, was crucial in providing the data required for the analysis of the buildings and their architectural qualities.

The understanding of ethic as ‘essence’ – derived from the word “ethos” – rather than implying a notion of morality, is concerned with the intrinsic nature and essential quality of a material or space. It is such meaning, that determines the character of the building, resulting in more than just an aesthetic experience. By observing, documenting, photographing and drawing the buildings first-hand an analysis of three ‘essential characteristics’ – namely the ground plane, monumentality and natural light – argues for the essence of Brazilian Brutalism.

By studying Brutalism in Brazil, the need for further research became clear. There is a large number of buildings requiring to be documented. The age and condition of the buildings, require academics and architects to identify their architectural importance, allowing for their appreciation, understanding and subsequent preservation.

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Research Trip: Summary

MATERIAL & STRUCTURAL EXPRESSION

The raw material quality gives these buildings their strong ‘honest’ aesthetic. The raw finish and expressed structure also work towards creating a monumental form of Brutalism in Brazil which is often framed within a natural setting with trees, mountains, the sky, creating a dialogue between these two opposites of – the concrete building and nature.

MONUMENTALITY / HUMAN SCALE

The image of Brutalism is often of a building which demands attention due to its strong presence and exaggeration of scale, creating monumentality. This monumental scale disrupts the relationship between a human being and the building and therefore attention is made to smaller-scale details which relate to the human experience, creating two opposite scales.

INSIDE:OUTSIDE / PUBLIC:PRIVATE

From visiting the buildings there appears to be an integrated experience between inside and outside often making a space neither one nor the other. This blurring of inside and outside to make the experience of the building involve its surroundings has a lot to do with the tropical climate of the country.

The ground plane is very important in Brazilian Brutalism as it’s manipulation decides how the building is entered and approached. It is often a moment of transition, a transition between public space to private space; a transition from space designed by the architect and not; and a transition from leaving the ground and descending or ascending into the building. The ground plane is often used to bring public space into the building with minimal thresholds creating the blurring of inside/outside.

ETHIC / AESTHETIC

It is easy to group buildings by a shared aesthetic, in terms of their materiality, monumental form and demonstration of structure. In terms of the ethic it is more difficult as not all brutalist examples are driven by an ethical manifesto; as well as buildings which are not considered brutalist which do have an ethical approach.

On the other hand, ‘Brutalism as an aesthetic and not an ethic’ is dependent on the definition of ‘ethic’ – if the architectural style was replicated and copied the ethic of the material quality and expression of structure is carried through, even if a political or social ethic is lost. This ‘ethic’ is of particular interest as the aesthetic is the result of the ethical treatment of material and structure.

‘CONTEMPORARY BRUTALISM’

Concrete is key to all of Brazil’s modern architecture and in São Paulo especially this resulted in the addition of numerous high-quality brutalist buildings to the city’s urban fabric. These buildings, most notably the city’s school of architecture FAU-USP, have been a great influence for younger architects in the city. This has resulted in a revival of a brutalist aesthetic from various young architects who appreciate the materiality and unique qualities that concrete possesses, and have demonstrated this is some excellent recent work.

MAINTENANCE

In the majority of buildings that were visited their visual appearance had been affected by weathering and discolouring as well as buildings that had structural problems. There were also buildings that required adapting for function or programme. This all leads to decisions having to be made in terms of maintaining the integrity of the building, however, depending on who are making these decisions and for what motive, the architectural qualities of the building are often ignored. This was very obvious in the case of the gymnasium at Clube Atletico Paulistano and the school Escola Jardim Ipê.

 

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS…

The age of the country is key to Brutalism in Brazil and the meaning of Brutalism in the country. Due to the country only being established in 1889, Brutalism was a movement to create an architectural identity for the country in terms of a cultural manifestation of its social, political and economic present and its aims for the future.  Brutalism began as a manifesto but as its architectural qualities began to influence others it became a fashion that was replicated and interpreted around the country. This, however, does not mean that Brutalism is purely an aesthetic as its approach to material, structure and space is ethical.

Brutalism is Brazil may be chronological similar, and aesthetically similar to global Brutalism but as the country was not affected hugely by WW2 its historical background is completely different. The buildings themselves, mainly due to Brazil’s tropical climate, have a different organisation of space and relationship to public/exterior space, compared to brutalist architecture in the UK and other countries. The difference in space and therefore the experience of the building makes ‘Brazilian Brutalism’ different to other countries.

Visit: Estádio do Morumbi

The stadium by Vilanova Artigas has changed its overall appearance very little from its original design in 1952. As clubs in Brazil were moving to new stadia or undergoing renovations for the World Cup, the Estádio do Morumbi has only being renovated to be able to host football in the 21^st century while retaining its original character.  

The stadium has a monumental presence, due to its material and structural expression, which is elevated off the ground plane to allow access for parking. The external aesthetic shows the underside of the raked levels for the seating and the structure needed to support it, both from the external faced and while inside the stadium.

Unlike the Estádio Mineirão, there is no public space outside the stadium itself which is located off busy streets and fast moving traffic. The foyer in the inside of the stadium, however, becomes an extension of the public space as visitors are free to visit as well as sports members using the gym facilities and running track.

Visit: Residência José Antônio Filippelli

During my trip I was fortunate to meet an architect who was able to organise a visit to a brutalist house. House designs were important for the architects of the 50s – 70s to experiment with new ideas for the Brazilian bourgeoisie. Ruy Ohtake’ design for Residência José Antônio Filippelli makes use of the full width of the plot; connects the two levels of the site and is designed around bringing in natural light.

The façade is a mix of concrete forms contrasted against the greenery of the front garden. The house is entered under an overhanging concrete mass and into a double height space with mix of concrete forms contrasting against one another and other materials.

The concrete is used in more than just the structure of the building with the stairs and even furniture all making use of it, creating a continuity within the house but also questioning an over-use of the material.

The first floor open-plan living space brings together the key characteristics of the house with concrete forms both linear and curved contrasting one another; openings flooding the space with natural light and a strong connection between inside and outside with an almost seamless flow of glass doors opening out to the patio, garden and swimming pool.

Visit: SESC Pompéia

This disused industrial warehouse was renovated to create a new cultural and sports complex. The design was treated as two parts, the existing factory buildings and the new-build concrete towers, connected by the public space between them. The original factory buildings were stripped back to their structure and building fabric, with new additions inserted to encourage a diverse social interaction and ‘architecture for all’. The concrete towers provide space for sporting activity with two towers connected by elevated concrete walkways and a third ‘chimney’.

FACTORY SPACES

The retrofitted spaces are stripped back to their envelope and concrete structure, with various interventions to the spaces to allow eating, sitting, talking, walking, reading – centred around “Culture as a shared life experience, free-choice, freedom for gatherings and meetings.” Lina Bo Bardi. The new concrete interventions and timber furnishings change the spaces by creating changes in height and changes in spatial experience.

CONCRETE TOWERS

The three concrete towers added are:

• The water tower to symbolise the old chimney of the factory that was previously demolished and to act as a marker of the site.
• A narrow concrete block with changing rooms, small gymnasium spaces and vertical circulation.
• A larger concrete block, connected to the other via external concrete walkways, contains a swimming pool and two levels of sports halls, which are naturally ventilated through large irregular openings which also offer views out to the city.

The material palette to the interventions unify the two parts of the complex with the raw concrete and red details signifying the architect’s changes. The openness and inclusive use of the cultural spaces in the factory buildings are in line with the manifesto of SESC, however, the sports complex is only open to members and do not offer tours or access to visitors to arguably one of the country’s most important and famous modern buildings.

Visit: Igreja da Vila Madalena

The work of Joaquim Guedes demonstrates some early examples of Brutalism in Brazil. The church of Vila Madalena is a monumental concrete and glass form with the pillars in the external walls and structural roof allowing for an open span within the church.

The positioning of the glazing – above eye-level, is for bringing in natural light as opposed to allowing views out. The glass therefore creates a naturally lit, bright space within the church, while attention is focused completely internally. The materiality inside and outside is very minimal and raw which draws attention to the concrete and the structure.

The building form is tapered at each end with the entrance in the middle with the highest ceiling height. The tapering of the floor and roof draw attention to either end and focus the view to the alter.

The building has been maintained reasonably well however, the addition of the panels above the two entrances with an irregular grid and infill coloured glazing completely detracts from the rest of the architecture by drawing attention to something which has no relation to the original design.

Visit: Galeria Leme

Galeria Leme is an interesting analysis into the influence of brutalism in contemporary architecture due to the project being a collaboration between Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Metro Arquitetos. During my visit the gallery was between exhibitions, however, a quick tour allowed me to view the various public and private spaces within the gallery.

On a tight site, at the corner of two streets, the new Galeria Leme consist of two concrete blocks connected with a walkway. The relationship between the two blocks leaves public space in the middle which works as an outside gallery, offering diverse spaces inside and outside to display art.

The concrete materiality is continued on the inside as a canvas to the art with exposed services and white painted steel stairs adding to the material palette. The juxtaposition of solid and void creates a strong relationship between concrete and natural light – with voids in the roof filling the spaces with natural light and the glazed façade of the walkway offering views out.

Visit: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo (FAU-USP)

The Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo, is a critical building to the understanding of Brutalism in Brazil. The building demonstrates various key points which all contribute to what makes a building brutalist (within the Brazilian context) as well as being the institution in which professors and students shared their ideas and opinions.

The building is an extension of the public space it sits in, with no threshold as you enter – only a change of height as you pass under the concrete level above and are released into the full-height naturally-lit atrium. The spatial continuity of the buildings is seen in its circulation which consist of ramps connecting the offset half levels on either side, all orientated around the central atrium.

The studio spaces, teaching rooms, cafeteria, shop, printing space, library and other spaces are organised around their need for privacy and qualities of light – with the studio spaces taking advantage of the natural light through the voids in the roof.

The building was designed to encourage freedom of expression and movement in line with Artigas’ concept of teaching architecture. 50 years after the design the building is inhabited not just by people and natural light but by graffiti and political slogans which give it more life.

The building has an unquestionable monumental presence created by the contradiction in the heavy concrete mass supported by thin, slender pillars. The structural treatment creates a permeability at the ground plane, while having an impermeable façade to the rest of the building which opens as you enter to express the uses on the various levels.

The building can be seen as a manifestation of Brazilian brutalist qualities as well as creating a building and space which demonstrates the relationship between ethic/aesthetic, by having an aesthetic which comes directly from an ethical approach.

Visit: Vila Aspicuelta

Another example of brutalist-inspired contemporary architecture by Tacoa Arquitetos is Vila Aspicuelta. Within the urban setting of São Paulo, the vertical green wall set within a concrete box of the front elevation, contrasts against the grey of the surrounding city.

Entering through the gate, the concrete box is lifted off the ground plane offering parking space for the 8 houses, with different structural treatments at each side: concrete beams carry the structural forces to the party wall where columns are expressed; and on the other side, the eight sets of stairs leading to each house are arranged to create arches.

Similar to the Galeria Adriana Varejão, the layout is organised around a journey – a vertically stacked journey navigated by the use of concrete and a strong connection to the outside through external spaces, natural light and natural ventilation. The tight plan has encouraged the architects to maximise the space through sliding and moving parts that also control natural light and privacy, with the attention to detail improving the human experience within the home.

Visit: Anhembi Tênis Clube

Vilanova Artigas’ political and cultural ideals, of creating socially inclusive architectures, seems to contradict the private, exclusive sports club he designed for. The project of the Anhembi Tênis Clube creates a series of inside, outside and inside/outside spaces as the main building for the sports club.

The key feature of the building is the plasticity and sculptural quality of its structure, expressed in raw concrete, and incorporating voids for natural light and built-in drainage services. The artificial lighting strategy of the volley ball court is designed to take the place of the natural lighting while dark, as to have a similar effect on the concrete and the space. The structure is carried through from outside to inside as well as creating in-between spaces of inside/outside. The structural essence of the use of the concrete and its importance is highlighted through voids, a white rendered finish and other materials.

Overall the concrete is in very good condition and more importantly the building has been renovated and adapted slightly while still maintaining an appreciation for the original architectural qualities.