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.
There are many reasons why some urban areas deteriorate while others thrive, including economic, planning, social, and cultural factors, as well as sheer chance. Understanding these dynamics—and, more importantly, minimizing the risk of decay while fostering vitality in urban areas—is a recurring theme in urban planning, driven by the shared and legitimate desire to live in beautiful, pleasant, and prosperous environments.
São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM) is considered the most Indigenous city in Brazil, home to 23 peoples belonging to five language families — Eastern Tukano, Arawak, Yanomami, Japurá-Uaupés, and Tupi. There, at two small excavation sites, archaeologists have found evidence proving a dense, continuous, and ancient settlement dating back at least two thousand years.
The findings challenge the common narrative that characterizes the region by depopulation, isolation, and disconnection from the rest of the Amazon. The area is one of the best-preserved in the Amazon and has been studied since 2019 by Parinã (Intercultural Archaeological Program of the Northwest Amazon), which has just compiled its first reports on the recovered archaeological fragments.
Recognizing that well-designed and high-quality sidewalks encourage walking in cities, the City of Florianópolis has launched the Calçada Certa program, aiming to ensure legal guidelines for sidewalk design are followed and to guide citizens in designing and building public walkways.
The program is accompanied by an illustrated manual presenting recent updates to the ABNT NBR 9050/2015 and ABNT NBR 16537/2016 standards. These address, respectively, accessibility in buildings, furniture, urban spaces, and equipment, and tactile paving design.
Archademy is the world's first accelerator for architects and interior designers. Inspired by startup accelerators, it focuses on structuring small firms to boost professional performance in just a few months.
Much like a consultancy, Archademy offers a customized package for architecture and interior design firms, along with mentoring sessions and workshops. The accelerator also aims to build a professional network, thereby generating job opportunities and collaborations.
Municipal public buildings, licensed urban spaces, and private buildings of collective interest and use will be required to display the names of the authors of the architectural and/or urban design project, as well as the technical professional responsible for the construction. This is mandated by a bill recently approved by the Maringá City Council. The text now goes to the city's mayor, Ulisses Maia, for approval.
Meu Coração Bate Como o Seu, the sculpture designed by Guto Requena and built in downtown São Paulo at Praça da República in honor of the LGBT community, has had its wiring destroyed and its internal light bulbs stolen.
Conceived to celebrate 40 years of community activism in São Paulo, the act against his work is, for Requena, homophobic in nature: "The country is becoming too violent, so I have no doubt that the vandalism of my work was intended to target the LGBT community."
A bill introduced in late March of this year aims to repeal two paragraphs of Law 12,378 of December 31, July 2010, which regulates the professional practice of architecture and urbanism. The bill PL 9818/2018, proposed by Representative Ricardo Izar (PP/SP), repeals the prerogative of the Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU) to define exclusive fields of practice for architects and urbanists, as well as shared fields of practice.
In general terms, the bill strips CAU/BR of the power to define what only architects can do. The bill repeals paragraphs 1 and 2 of article three of the 2010 law, which read as follows:
The reality of many Brazilian cities is so challenging that it would make many mayoral candidates hesitant to take on the task of public administration. With this in mind, and aiming to bring political and urban discussions to children and teenagers, the Brava Foundation, in partnership with the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, developed Cidade em Jogo, a free app reminiscent of the famous game SimCity, yet featuring problems and challenges typical of Brazilian cities.
The Ministry of the Environment has launched an online guide to urban agriculture. The booklet compiles techniques, reading recommendations, initiative mapping, and other resources on urban gardens.
The guide aims to encourage new initiatives and support existing ones, including through an interactive map that showcases inspiring preservation, restoration, and food production projects in cities.
Bixiga, one of São Paulo's most traditional neighborhoods, has gained significant historical and tourist importance over the years, thanks to its cantinas, street festivals, and vibrant cultural scene. However, many of the neighborhood's other layers and histories are harder to discover and access. Recognizing these numerous attractions, heritage sites, and the overall complexity of the area, and believing in the importance of walking, the NGO SampaPé! has launched the "Bixiga a Pé!" map, which highlights Bixiga's diverse historical and cultural layers for those exploring the neighborhood on foot.
Alfred Willer, a Czech architect who built his career in Brazil, has his story told in the feature-length documentary Red Trees [Red Trees], directed by his daughter, designer Marina Willer. After making its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and opening in theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, the documentary will have its national premiere on March 29.
This week, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) released the call for applications for a civil service examination that will open 411 positions across the country. Organized by the Brazilian Center for Research in Assessment and Selection and Promotion of Events (Cebraspe), the selection process was authorized on May 3 by the Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Management (MP) and is the result of a strong national mobilization aimed at highlighting the importance of preserving Brazilian cultural heritage to society.
As part of International Habitat and Architect Week in Mozambique, the exhibition opened and the winners of the First Architecture Photography Competition - Perspectivas were announced on October 1 in Maputo, during the event A Cidade Desejada, organized by the Association of Architects of Mozambique - ARCHIMOZ.
New residential developments in the country must incorporate accessibility features in all common areas, while individual housing units must be adapted according to buyer demand. Developments will have an 18-month deadline to adapt to the new rules established by Decree 9,451, whose guidelines regulate the Brazilian Inclusion Law.
Around 19,000 architects and urban planners from Rio de Janeiro state now have access to a shared office space in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Featuring 20 workstations and two meeting rooms, the space allows professionals to work and host client meetings.
The Council's goal is to bring greater vitality to the use of its headquarters—located at Av. República do Chile, 230, 23rd floor—while strengthening ties with professionals and providing access to an infrastructure that architects and urban planners help maintain. By the end of this year, CAU/RJ expects to increase the number of available workstations and meeting rooms.
As one of Modernism's key global legacies, how do the architecture and urban planning of Brasília shape the lives of those living in Brazil's capital? This is the subject of the documentary The Body and the Modernist City (O Corpo e a Cidade Modernista), which premieres with two screenings in Europe: on May 8 at the Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx) in Denmark, and on June 10 at the Arquiteturas Film Festival in Portugal.
The Professional Practice Commission (CEP) of CAU/BR will review the four main regulations governing the professional practice of architects and urban planners throughout Brazil. These are CAU/BR Resolutions No. 10 (Occupational Safety Engineering), No. 18 (Professional Registration with CAU); No. 22 (Inspection of Architecture and Urbanism); and No. 28 (Corporate Registration with CAU). “These four resolutions define the daily routine of architects and urban planners,” says coordinator Lana Jubé (GO). “The goal is to approve new resolutions on these matters by the end of 2018.”
The Habitação e Cidade (Housing and City) graduate program at Escola da Cidade invited architect Luis Kehl to speak about the growth of favelas. Characterizing the favela as an “urban fossil”—a centuries-old form of spatial occupation through irregular housing clusters—the lecture offers a chronological overview of informal occupations across different geographical and historical contexts.
