The story of the "Redondinhos" housing project in Heliópolis, São Paulo began with a misinterpreted quote by Ruy Ohtake. In 2003, a magazine published the following statement attributed to the prestigious architect and urban planner: "What I find most ugly in São Paulo is Heliopolis." After seeing the report, Ohtake clarified that his intention was to say that the ugliest in the city is the difference between rich and poor neighborhoods - "the difference between the Morumbi neighborhood and Heliopolis, the largest favela," he corrected.
The next week, John Miranda, a community leader at Heliopolis, called Ohtake. Instead of demanding explanations, he asked the architect to help improve the favela. Known for works such as Hotel Unique, Renaissance São Paulo Hotel, and the Tomie Ohtake Institute dedicated to his mother’s work, Ruy was faced with an unprecedented challenge, "real architecture," as he calls it.
