Romullo Baratto is an architect with a PhD from FAUUSP and Managing Editor of ArchDaily. He previously coordinated the editorial team of the 11th São Paulo Architecture Biennial and served as Managing Editor of ArchDaily Brasil, where he led the platform to win the FNA Award—the first time the honor was granted to a media outlet. He collaborated on the editing of the book "Concrete Jungle", published by gestalten, and has curated architecture exhibitions in Brazil, Chile, Denmark, and Italy, as well as delivered lectures and moderated debates in Spain, the United States, and Portugal. His doctoral thesis investigates the urban landscapes of São Paulo through cinema. His work spans academic research and editorial practice, communicating architecture through texts, interviews, lectures, curatorship, and photography. Follow him on Instagram @romullobf.
This Wednesday, April 22, FAU Encontros will host the first episode of tão longe, tão perto, a debate series proposed by architect and professor Marta Bogéa. Lisbon-based architect Manuel Aires Mateus and São Paulo-based architect Marina Acayaba will join the conversation.
Repurposing an existing structure, either by assigning it a new use or simply improving its condition, is a smart strategy in our current environmental context of rapid resource consumption. While finding ways to rehabilitate a building is a core task of architecture, the mission becomes far more complex when the pre-existing structure is imbued with deep cultural and historical value. Indeed, intervening in—and altering—architectural heritage means redesigning the past and prescribing a future, which may or may not introduce new ways of using the space.
In celebration of Brasília's 60th anniversary, filmmaker Pedro Rodolpho has made his documentary O Corpo e a Cidade Modernista available to the public for free. The film was screened at several of Europe's most prestigious film festivals in 2018, the year of its release.
While the first edition's theme was SHARE, and the second was CIRCULATE, the 3rd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award proposes REVIEW as its core concept—an opportunity to look at our social and environmental context, critically analyze it, and ask: how can a project contribute based on what is already in place?
In this week's Seminar on Culture and Contemporary Reality, hosted by the Escola da Cidade, Guilherme Wisnik talks with essayist, author, and host Francisco Bosco. Drawing from the essay "Communovirus" by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, they discuss how the pandemic will impact the future of Brazil across its political, social, cultural, and economic dimensions.
Current Brazilian politics is an anti-politics aimed at the annihilation of institutions, such as the notions of the public and the state. Guilherme Wisnik talks with Fernando Haddad about prospects for imagining ways out of this abyss.
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It is impossible to discuss Amazonian architecture without mentioning Severiano Porto. The Minas Gerais-born architect was key in shedding light on the potential of that climate and context when integrated into design practice. Yet Amazonian architecture is not defined by Porto alone; indeed, many contemporary examples deserve attention for their careful selection of materials, ingenious application of vernacular techniques, or the sophistication achieved with limited resources.
Architect Carlos Alberto Maciel is the fifth guest on Studio Casa, an interview series produced by Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Center for Architecture. With a master's degree and a PhD in Design Theory and Practice from the School of Architecture at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, where he teaches design, Maciel is a founding partner of Arquitetos Associados, a collaborative studio based in Belo Horizonte.
Guilherme Wisnik talks with Ester Carro, a community leader from Jardim Colombo in Paraisópolis, about forms of organization in vulnerable territories in times of epidemic, as well as the importance of community-led social initiatives.
What is the historical arc that traces the path from Brasília's social-democratic (and urban) utopia to today's neo-slaveholding dismantling of the democratic pact? What is this city we see today, stripped of all utopias, and with distinct regimes of vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic?
Guilherme Wisnik talks with Raquel Rolnik, architect and urbanist, and full professor at the University of São Paulo's School of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU-USP). She was the director of planning for the São Paulo Municipal Planning Department (1989–92) and National Secretary of Urban Programs at the Ministry of Cities (2003–07), among other public sector roles. The Seminar on Culture and Contemporary Reality is organized by Escola da Cidade with support from IABsp.
Photography researchers and enthusiasts now have another major tool at their disposal. The Photography Book Database (BDLF) has just been launched: a bibliographic reference platform exclusively dedicated to photography books. Conceived by photographer and researcher Leonardo Wen, the project began development in 2018 with funding from the Federal District's Cultural Support Fund.
Atelier Marko Brajovic recently shared the design for a Floating Community Library on Lake Mamori, in the Amazon Rainforest. Developed in close collaboration with the local community, the project aims to become a benchmark for sustainable construction and environmental education.
The São Paulo Municipal Government launched a bidding process this week for companies interested in constructing eight pedestrian access points to the João Goulart Elevated Highway, popularly known as the Minhocão, in downtown São Paulo.
Celso Sim, artistic collaborator of Teatro Oficina, is the seventh guest on Studio Casa, an interview series produced by Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Center for Architecture. As a filmmaker, he directed, wrote, and edited the 2018 feature film Penetrável Genet, which derives from the work created for the 10th São Paulo Architecture and Urbanism Biennial titled Penetrável Genet/Experiência Araçá, which occupied a cemetery in the city of São Paulo for 40 days.
In this week's debate hosted by Escola da Cidade, Guilherme Wisnik talks with Nuno Ramos, a painter, draftsman, sculptor, writer, filmmaker, set designer, and composer who holds a degree in philosophy from the University of São Paulo.
Elisabete França, a public administrator dedicated to implementing urban development, housing, and urban mobility programs, is the eighth guest on Studio Casa, an interview series produced by Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Center for Architecture.
Elisabete França has distinguished herself over the last few decades through her work promoting and disseminating architecture, curating several national and international exhibitions, and coordinating conferences and specialized publications. She holds a PhD from FAU Mackenzie and is a professor in the Architecture program at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP).
Developed by the Semeia Institute and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Parques para Todas e Todos is a tool to inspire the creation of more diverse spaces by incorporating a gender perspective into the planning and management of urban parks. It offers guidelines, suggestions, and ideas to begin designing parks that address everyone's needs.
Partner and founder of the firm Metro Arquitetos Associados, Martin Corullon is the ninth guest of Studio Casa, an interview series produced by Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Center for Architecture. Since 1994, Corullon has frequently collaborated with architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, with whom he has completed several projects on a wide range of scales.
Between 2008 and 2009, he worked at Foster+Partners in London. He has been a professor at Escola da Cidade since 2014 and was elected a member of CAU/SP for the 2018–2020 term. The interview is conducted by architect and curator Francesco Perrotta-Bosch.
