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: 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.

Visit: Escola Jardim Ipê

The work of Decio Tozzi does not have much international recognition, however, in Brazil his work has contributed to the rich history of ‘brutalist’ architecture both in his private and public work. Two schools designed by Tozzi in the 60s were of particular interest; one in Santos and one in São Bernardo do Campo (two cities outside São Paulo). The Escola Jardim Ipê in São Bernardo do Campo is still in use with the Escola Técnica de Comércio in Santos currently abandoned, awaiting renovation. My visit to the Escola Jardim Ipê is explained below with attention drawn to the current condition of the building and the changes that have impacted its architectural qualities.

Approaching the school, what stood out was not the raw concrete forms against the landscape; but yellow painted façades through a perimeter fence and an informal car park. The painted external façade is continued in the interior – the once raw materials have been repeatedly coated in paint and have lost their original qualities.

The main central space and the classrooms on the first floor maintain a good source of natural light, with the external form and aesthetic of the building relating in its functional use of drawing in natural light. The relationship between the natural light and the material quality of the concrete is lost through the painting of surfaces.

As well as the effect on the material quality of the architecture through painting the surfaces, the form of the architecture has also been ‘decharacterized’ through reforms. The open ground floor which flowed into the outside space has been changed with the addition of classrooms – completely changing the connection between inside/outside. The architectural qualities of the building have been sacrificed for functional needs and have been worsened by what appears like a lack of public funding and appreciation of the original architecture.

Visit: Igreja São Bonifácio

The church designed by Hans Broos was situated in a residential neighbourhood of São Paulo. The aim of the church was to provide a confined space without external interface, while simultaneously being a public space which can be seen as a continuation of the street. Broos’ response to the brief was to create an elevated concrete box with no connection to the outside; while at the same time looking closely at the continuation of a journey between the public street and the building.

Although the continuation of public space was key to Broos’ original design gaining access to the building was only possible during services, due to the construction of a security fence, marking a boundary of public/private space. The threat and/or fear of security in Brazil has resulted in a culture of creating strong boundaries within space which the original architect would have been strongly against.

On the other side of the security fence is a public space for the community which is under the church itself – the building is lifted off the ground on thin pillars on one side and a service core and circulation on the other. Due to practicalities of the space, however, the congregation are wanting to enclose it as the space is not useable during cold temperatures and it is often affected by the wind. Thankfully (for the sake of the building’s architectural qualities) this is proving difficult due to the building being recently listed, however, this raises questions about what is important the use of the building or its aesthetic; and whether compromises between the two can be reached.

From the public space the building is entered through a ramped and stepped access in a double/triple height space. The use of ramps creates a continuity from the outside space and the glass and stained glass draws in natural light and focuses attention to the internal concrete materiality. As you ascend to the first floor connection is lost to the outside with the focus becoming the isolated space itself.

Natural light brought in from openings above wash the side walls while expressing the concrete structure and materiality. The artificial lighting similarly highlights the structure, although detracts unnecessarily from the natural lighting which would seem to be sufficient by itself. The internal material palette and furnishings of the Portuguese stone flooring, steel and timber chairs and red carpet, complement the concrete, while allowing it and its relationship to light be the main focus.

The concrete appeared to be in good condition and I was informed that due to private funding it had been restored recently with it being lightly painted internally to retain is material essence.

Visit: Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM)

The Museum of Modern Art in Rio is arguably the city’s best example of brutalism and was designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy. Unlike many of the brutalist buildings of its time in Brazil MAM received a lot of international interest, with articles published in the Architectural Record (USA), Architects’ Journal (UK) and L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui (France).

The structure and materiality of MAM has a level of sophistication in its use of concrete. The mix of materials (concrete, glass and brick) highlight the use of concrete and its structural and sculptural qualities. The separation between the external structure and the habitable space exaggerates the how the building is supported, as it is read as two forms, giving a sense of weightlessness.

The materiality on the inside creates an interesting dialogue between the building, the art work and the visitors. As well as the art being on show the building is exposed to demonstrate how it functions to facilitate its use, with exposed lighting, ducting, and the suspended floor structure.

The public space and the building’s relationship to it is key in this project, with the light connection between the building and the ground plane. The importance of the public space is seen through the entrance as an extension of the public space, with only a glass threshold separating the two spaces – inside from outside. The open plan ground floor consists of the reception, shop and an entrance barrier leading to the ground floor gallery space, with the highlight being the central cast-in-situ concrete spiral staircase, leading to the main gallery spaces above.

The varied gallery spaces on the first and second floors provide opportunities for different works of mixed sizes to be viewed from various vantage points. The change of height and width of gallery spaces as you move through them creates moments of compression and release, and changing connections with the artwork. Roof lights in the angled ceiling (controlled by blinds, which were closed while visiting) provide opportunities for natural light to enter depending on the art work being displayed. The journey through the spaces consist of moments which offer connections with the outside as well as a constant view and connection to another part of the gallery.

Visit: Cidade das Artes

Designed by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc and completed in 2013, Cidade das Artes is a building which is difficult to call brutalist, however it does provide an interesting analyse in terms of shared features between this building and Brutalism.

The building is lifted 10m off the ground plane of landscaped gardens with stairs and escalators connecting to the two levels. The vast scale of the building creates degrees of publicness of space within it. The space (public space as well as purpose built theatres) are there to be activated by Art with steps which can double up as raked seating as well as break out spaces within the main concert hall for smaller performance. As a concept this is all fantastic, however, there are not the events nor the visitors for the building to reach its full potential.

Although the building is at such a large scale, the openings to the sky; surrounding city; and mountains, create moments of release giving the building context and comparisons of scale.

The Cidade das Artes is a mass of concrete forms with the materiality continued inside and out. In the smaller concert hall, the material palette of concrete and timber is used to manipulate different acoustic qualities, with the stage able to rotate and face the two different materials for the acoustics best suited to the performance. The main concert hall is painted in the inside and therefore loses it material quality which exists in the rest of the building.

The building consists of various concrete forms, both rectilinear and curved, creating interesting moments when these forms collide, and a strong sense of movement. During a tour of the building, it was explained that the concert halls are in the form of ships which is the driving concept of the building creating the sense of movement, with pillars at an angle to symbolise masts.

The momumentality and exaggeration of scale throughout the whole building is overpowering with little connection to human scale. The location of the building is difficult to visit and the scale of the building contrasts against its low level of habitation. These two factors make the building questionable in whether it is in fact functional, or has it just been built as a landmark?

Visit: Catedral Metropolitana

Unlike many other brutalist buildings in Brazil, its relationship with the ground is rather forceful than delicate. Externally its monumentality is similar to an Aztec temple as opposed to the sophisticated play between heaviness and weightlessness in other Brazilian brutalist examples.

The contrast between inside/outside is an effective tool in analysing the space as this contrast is what stood out for me while visiting the cathedral. The huge dark grey concrete form, which on the day I visited sat against a light grey sky, is brought to life internally by the 4 strips of stained glass which meet at the roof to form a cross and wrap the entire building, with light and colour. As well as the natural light through the stained glass the layering of the concrete façade is brought to life internally as a gap allows the internal layer to be washed in natural light. The repetition of the form and the effect of natural light enhances the human experience within.Externally the building’s scale is exaggerated with uninhabited height used to enhance the spatial experience internally, as well as reinforcing an external monumental image.

The condition of the concrete externally appears to be poor, which may be due to both; the thinness of the material; and the pyramid form which maximises the building’s surface to the natural elements.

Visit: Centro Administrativo da Bahia (CAB)

The Centro Administrativo da Bahia CAB was constructed in the 70s, 10km to the East of Salvador, with government buildings for the state of Bahia aimed at attracting people and investment to the area. The buildings of interest are all designed by João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé) and constructed from 1973 – 1975. Although designed by the same architect and within a couple of years the buildings demonstrate a wide application of the use of concrete and brutalism; a variety of program and use; and are currently in different states of condition and use.

Igreja do Centro Administrativo da Bahia 

The church is constructed from a series of sculptural concrete forms, triangular columns which open out creating a canopy above. These forms are repeated in a spiral plan, with each of the 12 columns 500mm taller than the previous and overlapping by 1 metre to create a concrete roof which allows shafts of natural light to enter the space.

The simplicity yet sophistication of the concrete structure is of great interest and provides the key focus of the space. The triangular form creates an interplay between the thickness of concrete and it’s slender and delicate application.

The journey of the church is focused around the concrete forms: entering under the lowest canopy; following the structure round to enter the main space; and ending by facing the key timber wall, denoted by the cross and bathed in natural light from the skylight.

The use of concrete and offsetting of the forms creates a strong relationship with natural light as it enters between the solid forms, casting light and shadow on the various angled surfaces.

The concrete is complimented with other materials: timber, stone and glazing. These materials all work together to create a special experience in the space, while also stressing the unique plastic qualities of the application of concrete.

Centro do Exposições do Centro Administrativo da Bahia 

The most fascinating of Lelé’s buildings at CAB, when looking at photos beforehand was the Exhibition Centre, due to its two impressive suspended/cantilevered forms on either side. I was interested in how the experience of the building would match up with its image, and how its monumentality would relate to the human scale.

As I arrived at the building cones and rope had the area under one of the cantilevers cordoned off and it became clear that the building was no longer in use. Speaking with a security guard, he explained that the building had been abandoned for 8 years awaiting renovation, unable to enter the building and with structural defects.  These issues raise questions on the re-use and adaption of a bespoke concrete building, as to how such an impressive landmark could no longer be in use.

Unable to properly enter the building it is difficult to comment on how the experience matches the image however the mass of concrete that is being suspended is impressive while standing underneath. In terms of the monumentality vs the human scale, the building itself is much smaller than perceived, and therefore, it is its form and expression of structure that creates a sense of monumentality due to an exaggeration of scale.

Secretarias do Centro Administrativo da Bahia 

Gaining access to visit one of the secretary buildings was difficult due to unnecessary bureaucracy which is all too common in Brazil. Only being able to visit the building from the outside and allowed to take photos in certain areas, my understanding of the building is limited.

The building is lifted from the ground plane, creating monumentality. There is a relationship between the repetition of pre-cast concrete blocks and the asymmetry of the overall form, which is interesting as the regular and irregular mesh together.

The building’s use of office spaces is thought of in the treatment of the elevations. The depths of the windows act as bris-solei and reduce solar glare into the space, while aesthetically adding depth and shadow-play to the façade.

Although the buildings are still in full use their physical appearance is showing signs of wear both in the finish of the concrete and missing metal panels.