In the 1960s, as the verticalization of Avenida Paulista intensified with the construction of large commercial buildings and headquarters for corporations, companies, and banks, the most notable addition to the landscape was the construction of MASP, designed by Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992).
The building, which is now turning fifty, was inaugurated on the site of the former Belvedere Trianon, which had been demolished in 1951 and later hosted the temporary pavilion of the 1st São Paulo International Biennial. Originally located on Rua 7 de Abril in downtown São Paulo, MASP officially moved to its current headquarters on November 7, 1968. Working with glass and concrete, Bo Bardi blended rough, unfinished surfaces with lightness, transparency, and suspension.
Bo Bardi's design preserved the views toward downtown, creating a large plaza—the Vão Livre (free span)—between the elevated structure and the museum's underground levels, conceived as a public square for the city's residents.
To mark the building's anniversary, the museum will host the international seminar “Lina's MASP - 50 Years of the Building on Avenida Paulista” on November 5. The event is organized by André Mesquita, coordinator of mediation and public programs at MASP; Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director of the museum; and Guilherme Giufrida, curatorial assistant. The event will be free of charge, with simultaneous translation into Portuguese and Libras (Brazilian Sign Language). Tickets will be distributed at the museum's box office two hours before the start of the program.
The discussion will focus on the building's architecture, the design's impact on daily life in São Paulo, and the social and political uses of the MASP plaza. A collective character and public engagement define MASP's architecture, reflecting Bo Bardi's stance on socio-cultural issues and the role of architecture in this debate. The building's spacious, airy, and transparent areas foster an open connection not only with museum visitors but also with the public walking along the avenue.
The one-day seminar will feature presentations by Brazilian and international architects, historians, and curators discussing the building's history, design, and recent use. It will also feature dialogues between architects and engineers who worked with Bo Bardi during construction, alongside photographers presenting new photo essays of the building. These images, along with the speakers' papers and other materials, will be published in a catalog scheduled for release in April 2019.
The seminar and book precede the exhibition Lina Bo Bardi: Habitat, which MASP will present in 2019 in partnership with Museo Jumex (Mexico) and MCA Chicago (USA)—a year in which the museum will focus on the curatorial theme of women's histories and feminist histories.
Additionally, in 2017, MASP received funding from the Getty Foundation's Keeping It Modern program, which supports research dedicated to the conservation of modern buildings worldwide. The project, completed this year, aimed to establish a plan with permanent conservation and maintenance guidelines.
The project team, coordinated by architect Silvio Oksman of Metrópole Arquitetos Associados and managed by MASP project manager Miriam Elwing, includes museum staff architect Lúcia Furlan, alongside external architecture and engineering consultants, and architect Martin Corullon of Metro Arquitetos. Since 2015, Corullon has been developing exhibition design and building adaptation projects, including the return of the crystal easels to MASP's picture gallery.
This unprecedented research brought to light little-studied information, allowing for more secure decision-making in the preservation of the building moving forward.
LINA'S MASP
50 Years of the Building on Avenida Paulista
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Session 1: Context and Contemporaneity of the MASP Building
- Marina Grinover, architect (Base Urbana)
- Eduardo Rosetti, professor in the Department of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Brasília
- Zeuler de Lima, professor in the College of Art and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University, USA
- Silvio Oksman, architect (Metrópole Arquitetos)
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Session 2: How to Photograph MASP
- Nair Benedicto, photographer Dulce Soares, photographer
- Lucia Guanaes, photographer Luiza Baldan, photographer
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Session 3: The Construction of the MASP Building: Design as Process
- Roberto Rochlitz, engineer
- Marcelo Suzuki, architect
- Marcelo Ferraz, architect (Brasil Arquitetura)
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Session 4: The Design of the MASP Building and (Post-)Modernity
- Guilherme Wisnik, professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo
- Barry Bergdoll, professor in the Department of Art History at Columbia University, USA, and curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA (New York)
- Olivia de Oliveira, architect, butikofer de oliveira vernay sàrl (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Details
- Date and time: November 5, from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM
- Location: MASP Auditorium (first basement level)
- Address: Avenida Paulista, 1578, São Paulo
- Phone: (11) 3149-5959
- Museum hours: Wednesday to Sunday: from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (ticket office open until 5:30 PM); Tuesday: from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (ticket office until 7:30 PM)
- Seminar tickets: free (tickets available two hours prior)
- MASP admission: R$ 35 (general admission); R$ 17 (half-price admission)
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
