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Text description provided by the architects. The Museum of Labor and the Worker will be built on a site of approximately 10,000 square meters, previously occupied by the old municipal market, adjacent to the São Bernardo do Campo Civic Center (Paço Municipal). The site will function as an extension of the Civic Center Park, within a garden where, amidst trees and flowers, machinery, instruments, tools, and artifacts will be on display—objects evoking the origins, experiences, and the very concept of labor throughout human history.

This “public garden of labor” extends beneath the elevated main volume of the museum, revealing a large central welcoming space. This street-like passage provides access and cuts through both the site and the building, connecting Armando Ítalo Setti Avenue and Vianas Street, thereby integrating the project into the urban fabric.

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This article was originally published on July 20, 2018. To read about other iconic architecture projects, visit our AD Classics section.

Ibirapuera Park is a landmark in the city of São Paulo and a milestone of Brazilian modern architecture. Housing a cluster of five cultural buildings connected by a light, sinuous canopy, the project—designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer in harmony with the landscaping—reads like poetry floating over São Paulo's urban fabric.

Commissioned in 1951 by Governor Lucas Nogueira Garcez—who established a planning commission composed of public and private sector representatives for the celebrations of the IV Centennial of the City of São Paulo—the park was envisioned as a landmark for the capital, serving as a vital hub for culture and leisure. This idea, which had previously been championed by Ciccillo Matarazzo, paved the way for a proposal that combined a series of cultural and artistic buildings.

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A white box traverses the Olinda sky.

Atop the hill, on the site chosen for the city's founding—offering views of the entire urban landscape and the sea—a seed of modern architecture in Brazil was planted in a vacant space between the Cathedral (Sé) and the Senate House (Casa de Câmara).

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Text description provided by the architects. Inaugurated in March 1979, this building is one of the main cultural venues in the municipality of Campos do Jordão. Since its opening, it has hosted the city's traditional Winter Festival.

The architectural concept is grounded in a robust structural system, featuring four perimeter columns that support a square, exposed concrete roof. The columns are braced by roof beams that form diagonal ribs, which also function as acoustic reflectors for the auditorium.