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.
National Architect and Urban Planner Day, celebrated on December 15, has officially become law. Law 13,627/2018, which adds the date to the official Brazilian calendar, was signed into law by the Presidency of the Republic on January 16. This marks an important step in the process of professional recognition initiated by CAU/BR and regional CAUs since their creation in 2011. The Council began operating precisely on December 15 so that its establishment would coincide with the birth date of Oscar Niemeyer.
The open course Arquitetura Paulistana, organized by Estúdio Artigas, offers guided tours of prominent contemporary projects in São Paulo. Accompanied by the architects behind the designs, participants gain insight into each work through the eyes of those who conceived them.
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released last week the 2017 edition of the Profile of Brazilian Municipalities (Munic). According to the document, fewer than half of Brazilian cities have structured planning for housing. The report points out that last year, of the country's 5,570 municipalities, 59.6% had some type of housing-directed initiative, but only 39.7% had a Municipal Housing Plan.
The crowdfunding campaign to produce the 2019 Athos Bulcão Illustrated Calendar is now live. Through November 28, the public can contribute to the production and distribution of 6,000 copies of the calendar. In return, supporters will receive copies of the publication alongside rewards featuring the artist's work, such as bookmarks, postcards, books, tote bags, magnet sets, mouse pads, silver jewelry, and even framed tiles, as well as having their names printed in the acknowledgements section. Supporters can view the rewards and make their contributions on Catarse.
Dresden-based architecture collective ruestungsschmie.de has shared another large-scale video mapping project, this time on the facade of the Church of St. Ludmila in Prague. Titled NUCLEUS³, the project uses audiovisual media to raise the question: what do we expect for the future?
The documentary FILME PAISAGEM, um olhar sobre Roberto Burle Marx (Landscape Film: A Look at Roberto Burle Marx) opens in theaters on November 15, showcasing the Brazilian landscape architect's profound contribution to the country's native flora. Written and directed by João Vargas Penna, the film is a journey through the art and personality of Roberto Burle Marx, who was also a painter, cook, and singer—lesser-known facets of his life to the general public.
The open call for projects for the Brazilian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale closed on Friday, January 19, at 11:00 p.m., after being open to the public for one month.
The initiative aimed to find projects across Brazil that demonstrate architecture as a tool to mediate conflicts, negotiate transitions between the public and private realms, and articulate connections between distinct urban fabrics.
Lina Bo Bardi. Preliminary study – interactive sculptures for the Trianon Art Museum belvedere, 1968. India ink and watercolor on paper, 56.3 x 76.5 cm. MASP Collection, donation from the Instituto Lina Bo e P. M. Bardi
The theme “Women’s Histories, Feminist Histories” will guide the 2019 exhibition program at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP). Six solo exhibitions by female artists—Djanira da Motta e Silva, Tarsila do Amaral, Lina Bo Bardi, Anna Bella Geiger, Leonor Antunes, and Gego—have already been confirmed, alongside a major group exhibition sharing the program's title.
Videos
Captura de tela do filme "The Hyms of Muscovy", de Dimitri Venkov. Image Cortesia de Arquiteturas Film Festival
The Arquiteturas Film Festival, one of the most prominent film festivals dedicated to cinema addressing architecture and cities, has announced the list of award-winning films for its 2018 edition. In its 6th edition, the festival, which is an independent project promoted by DYMA – Do You Mean Architecture, focused on "exploring what we learn from the futuristic, utopian, or hyper-realistic stories that have been shaping our visual culture through cinema."
Believing that “there is no cinema without architecture,” the objective of Arquiteturas is to discover and present films that foster meaningful contemporary debates and broaden the viewer's critical thinking.
The Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU) has re-released the free guidebook on Technical Assistance for Social Interest Housing (ATHIS), originally published by CAU/SC. The 60-page document contextualizes this assistance work in relation to public authorities, the general public, and professionals, presenting different service delivery scenarios.
Brazil's greatest living architect, Paulo Mendes da Rocha does not appreciate architecture alone. Music is also part of his daily life, and this playlist—shared with us by his daughter, Joana Mendes da Rocha—features some of the musical preferences of our Golden Lion.
Museu do Trabalho e do Trabalhador in São Bernardo do Campo. Image via Google Street View
Designed by the firm Brasil Arquitetura, the Museum of Labor and the Worker is located in the city of São Bernardo do Campo. Once completed, it is set to house records of the "memory of the working world, from the arrival of the Portuguese to the present day." Although 5,500 square meters have already been built, construction has been halted and the site has been abandoned for about a year and a half.
In an op-ed published in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Brazilian Pritzker laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha and former UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik suggest that halting the museum's construction—officially blamed on suspected project overpricing—is actually more closely linked to an aversion to the cultural narrative surrounding the project.
The São Paulo - Morumbi Station is part of the second implementation phase of the São Paulo Metro’s Line 4 – Yellow and is currently nearing completion. The project features two external entrances located at the intersection of Francisco Morato and Jorge João Saad avenues, as well as integration with the SPTRANS bus terminal.
Curated by Irish duo Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, partners at Grafton Architects, this year's theme seeks to reveal "diversity, specificity, and continuity in architecture." According to Paolo Baratta, president of La Biennale di Venezia, FREESPACE aims to promote "desire" in architecture.
The São Paulo City Government has resumed discussions regarding property tax (IPTU) exemptions and discounts for landmarked buildings. Previously debated during the administrations of Gilberto Kassab and Fernando Haddad, the issue is currently the focus of a newly drafted bill.
The proposal limits the IPTU exemption to landmarked properties located in downtown São Paulo, within a perimeter that is still being defined. It will not apply to properties subject to general zoning restrictions, such as those in historically preserved neighborhoods like Jardins and Pacaembu.
Alongside Tiê, an adventurous capybara, Lina sets off on a journey through ten public spaces around the world – such as the High Line in New York or Paulista Avenue in São Paulo – to discover the secrets of how cities are built. The two are the main characters of the book Casacadabra – Cidades para Brincar (Cities to Play), a new release from Pistache Editorial, which launches its crowdfunding campaign on April 16 on Catarse. The book features text by Bianca Antunes and Simone Sayegh, with illustrations by Luísa Amoroso. This is the second title in the Casacadabra series – the first, titled Invenções para morar (Inventions for Living), presented the architecture of ten houses around the world.
The Council of the International Union of Architects (UIA), meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico, unanimously approved on May 18 the nomination of the city of Rio de Janeiro as the UIA/UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2020. Securing this title is part of the program proposed by the City of Rio, with support from the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB), for 2020, when the city will host the 27th World Congress of Architects.
Invited by the organizers of UIA2020Rio, architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha will chair the Honorary Committee of the World Congress of the International Union of Architects, which will take place in two years in Rio de Janeiro under the theme "All worlds. Just one world. Architecture 21."
