Cities around the world are welcoming the colors and benefits of murals painted with photocatalytic paint, which is known for helping to clean the air. The murals are part of the Converse City Forests project, developed by the brand behind the famous All Star sneakers. The goal is to paint more than 14,000 square meters of murals worldwide by the end of this year. Together, they are equivalent to planting approximately 40,000 trees.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented consequences for the global economy. In Brazil, it hit an economy that had barely recovered from the 2015–16 recession. However, responding to the crisis requires not only easing budget rules, but rethinking the very role of the state to address historical deficiencies that the pandemic has laid bare.
Guilherme Wisnik talks with Laura Carvalho, professor at the School of Economics and Administration of the University of São Paulo and holder of a PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research. She writes biweekly for the newspaper Nexo and is the author of "Valsa Brasileira: do boom ao caos econômico" (Todavia, 2018) and "Curto-Circuito: o vírus e a volta do Estado" (Todavia, 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated various sanitary and infrastructural deficiencies in developing nations, particularly Angola, which already bears the burden of successive economic recessions.
The outskirts of major urban centers, with Luanda as a paradigmatic case, are critical territories for the spread of the disease. Home to nearly one-third of the country's population—80% of whom live in highly precarious urban conditions—a combination of factors creates an incredibly complex scenario. These challenges include a lack of basic sanitation, high built and population densities, overcrowded housing (averaging three people per room), inaccessibility for urban services (such as firefighters, waste collection, and police), a lack of public spaces and green areas, unsanitary indoor conditions, heavy reliance on the informal sector, and limited access to food security and healthcare services.
The jury of the Maré-City International Competition, organized by the 27th World Congress of Architects – UIA2021RIO, has selected the three winning projects and three honorable mentions. The choice was not easy: out of 180 entries from places as diverse as Germany, China, Egypt, Brazil, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Colombia, France, Portugal, Oman, and Ukraine, the jury shortlisted 28 finalists before deciding on the winners. Chinese entrants represent the majority of the awardees, securing first and second place, as well as the Roberto Burle Marx and Demetre Anastassakis honorable mentions. Third place went to a project by Brazilian students from São Paulo, while the Luiz Paulo Conde honorable mention was awarded to a project by students from Bogotá, Colombia.
A watercolor-illustrated tourist map, a mobile application available for Android and iOS, and two books gathering stories from the neighborhoods of Rio da Luz, in Jaraguá do Sul, and Testo Alto, in Pomerode—both in Santa Catarina—comprise the Projeto Lumiar. The initiative will launch these products online at 7:00 PM this Thursday, the 8th. The result of two years of research with local communities, the launch event is supported by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).
The struggle for the right to the city is deeply tied to the right to decent, permanent, and accessible housing. This involves downtown building revitalization projects driven by broad social participation, particularly by women who are heads of households—initiatives that serve as scalable models across the city. Guilherme Wisnik speaks with Carmen Silva, a Black woman from Northeast Brazil and an activist for the right to the city. A leader of the Movimento Sem-Teto do Centro (MSTC), she served as a Municipal Housing Councilor for two terms, and during the same period, she coordinated the Participatory Council of the Sé region.
Maria Inês Sugai is the 2020 Architect and Urban Planner of the Year. The award is presented annually by the National Federation of Architects and Urban Planners (FNA) to professionals who stand out for their work dedicated to the development of the profession and of Brazilian cities. Holding a bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degree from FAU-USP, with specializations in Urban and Regional Development and the Use and Conservation of Natural Resources from UFSC, the professor's nomination was supported by the Union of Architects and Urban Planners of Santa Catarina (SASC). Maria Inês Sugai is currently a professor in undergraduate and graduate programs at UFSC and the author of articles and books, including “Espaço e Desigualdade” (Space and Inequality). She also served as a member of the Santa Catarina State Council of Cities.
Sesc São Carlos, in upstate São Paulo, has launched a short video series on how permaculture works in practice. Produced by Associação Veracidade, the entire series will be available online for free.
Over six episodes, various social technologies will be presented, such as composting toilets, composting, solar ovens, and rainwater harvesting, among others. Viewers can explore the various ecological possibilities that can be integrated into a sustainable home—even in urban spaces.
October 16 marked World Food Day. On this date in 2020, the Stop Hunger Institute launched a project that includes a community garden and training and educational initiatives for the Paraisópolis community, a favela in São Paulo's South Zone.
Developed in partnership with the Instituto Escola do Povo, the project establishes a new space of approximately 900 square meters for growing vegetables. The goal is to educate, train, and distribute the harvest to registered community residents, ensuring access to healthier food.
After at least five years of study, the time comes for Architecture and Urbanism students to complete their final graduation projects—often called TCC, TFG, or Graduation Projects. In choosing their topics, students highlight civil, urban, or theoretical projects that play a crucial role in sparking debates about the future of our cities, the built environment, urban infrastructure, mobility, and many other fundamental topics that shape how we inhabit space.
On October 29, the 2020 Inequality Map was launched virtually. Produced by Rede Nossa São Paulo and the Cidades Sustentáveis program, the study maps indicators such as mobility, human rights, education, and health across the city's 96 districts.
Although the mapping was conducted using pre-pandemic data, the goal is for the information to guide the development of public policies to mitigate inequality indicators, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Ícaro Jardins da Graciosa Building, designed by Studio Arthur Casas, was recognized in the Rethinking The Future Awards, an initiative that honors architecture and design projects from around the world across more than 40 categories. Located in Curitiba, the building features 21 apartment units distributed among three exposed concrete towers.
Competing in the residential (over five floors) category, the building designed by Casas features a facade defined by circulation pathways that double as balconies, emphasizing the towers' horizontality. With landscaping by Renata Tilli, these horizontal lines are accentuated by the lush greenery of plants grown in planters along the perimeter of each floor.
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The 5th edition of the {CURA} Award continues its proposal of hosting ideas competitions with themes aligned with current discussions on architecture, the city, and society, always understanding that architecture is an action-based profession. This time, participants were challenged to design the renovation of an apartment in the iconic Copan Building, designed by Oscar Niemeyer in downtown São Paulo.
Small-scale renovations are among the most common projects in Brazil, but that does not mean they are immune to budgeting and specification issues. A useful tool to avoid these headaches is Pro-Reforma, a free web app that automatically specifies, quantifies, and estimates the products and services needed for a renovation project.
In October, the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) launched a free basic online course on BIM (Building Information Modeling). Divided into two modules, the Democratizando BIM course is aimed at all professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sectors. To register, simply visit the website and fill out the form.
Since colonial times in Brazil, Black people have organized in resistance to the slave-owning and colonial regime. Brotherhoods, quilombos, famílias de santo. The Black press, domestic workers' associations, the Brazilian Black Front, and the Black Experimental Theater. Blocos-afro, the Unified Black Movement (MNU), literary groups, Black women's organizations, and international fronts. A political activism interwoven with the arts and spirituality that has brought us to where we are today.
Guilherme Wisnik talks with Bianca Santana, a journalist, writer, PhD in information science, and holder of a master's degree in communication from the University of São Paulo. Santana is the author of Quando me descobri negra, a columnist for ECOA-UOL and Gama magazine, and a member of UNEafro, one of the organizations that make up the Black Coalition for Rights.
Solar energy is officially the cheapest way to generate electricity today, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its newly released annual World Energy Outlook 2020 report. “With sharp cost reductions over the past decade, solar PV is consistently cheaper than new coal- or gas-fired power plants in most countries, and solar projects now offer some of the lowest electricity costs ever seen,” the document states.
What is comfort in living? How does the city serve as a stage for your life? How do gender and race issues influence the way you walk down the street at night? Why is the villain's house always cooler than the hero's? These are some of the topics discussed on Betoneira, a podcast hosted by architects André Scarpa, Marcelo Barbosa, and Paula Otto.
The core premise of Betoneira is to cover a bit of everything in order to speak deeply about architecture, people, and cities, blending a wide range of topics, guests, opinions, theories, and memes through the unique lens of each of the three hosts.
