Blind walls that speak: a highly impactful intervention is underway, notable for its history, scale, and relevance.

The Paseo de la República Vía Expresa was inaugurated in 1967, more than 50 years ago. Coincidentally, its route aligns with one of the main branches of the Qhapaq Ñan (Inca Trail) that once crossed the Rímac Valley. As one of Lima's most vital thoroughfares, it spans 66 blocks, cutting through the city from north to south across the districts of Lima Centro, Lince, La Victoria, San Isidro, Surquillo, Miraflores, and Barranco. It is popularly known as the zanjón ("the ditch") because of its sunken, multi-lane design. While critics initially argued that low traffic volumes did not justify its construction, today the highway is heavily congested. In addition to hosting the Metropolitano bus rapid transit system along its entire length, bumper-to-bumper traffic jams are a daily reality during rush hour.

Today, the zanjón has a distinctly gray appearance, serving as a prominent showcase of concrete in Lima. Although it was once a canvas for mosaic murals—some fragments of which survive to this day—the walls now appear neglected amid spontaneous graffiti. Notable artists such as Fernando de Szyszlo, José Carlos Ramos, Bárbara Kukier, and Enrique Bustamante participated in these original mosaic murals along the Vía Expresa. During the 1980s, the mayor of Lima at the time, Eduardo Orrego, supported the creation of the "world's largest mural," which was intended to span Paseo de la República from Plaza Grau to the exit in Barranco. Although ambitious for its time, the project was left unfinished and remains pending.

+ 9

In the fall of 2017, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck at least nine states in Mexico, leaving several areas severely affected across Mexico City, Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, and the State of Mexico. Jojutla, a municipality located in Morelos, was one of many reduced to ruins after the earthquake shook Mexico on September 19, leaving much of its infrastructure damaged. Consequently, through an initiative by Infonavit, a master plan was launched to reconstruct the municipality's primary public buildings.

The project emerged as an opportunity to increase accessibility to Buenos Aires's Hipódromo de San Isidro—currently privately managed—through minimal interventions. By creating a linear park around the perimeter, the proposal makes this urban green lung more inclusive, transforming it into a social hub that enhances both the environment and quality of life.

When we understand architecture as the activity of modifying a natural site and transforming it into an environment suitable for human coexistence—whether through a building or the urbanization of a territory—we can understand the architect's work as something that must serve the community. In this sense, the historical concept of humanism and republicanism is invoked—the public affair, in Latin.

Anyone who has ever been to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro has certainly seen vendors selling grilled *queijo coalho* (curd cheese) or grilled shrimp, sweet mate tea, and Globo biscuits—classic snacks of the Rio shoreline. In São Paulo, open-air markets serve sugarcane juice and fried *pastel*, a local adaptation of a dish originally brought by Chinese immigrants and popularized by Japanese immigrants. In Minas Gerais, there is *pão de queijo* (cheese bread) and pastel, also filled with cheese. In Salvador, it is impossible not to mention *acarajé* (with or without hot sauce), which has been declared an intangible cultural heritage asset by IPHAN. The capital of Bahia even has its own Street Food Guide, reflecting the immense culinary diversity found in the city.

Urban transformation and development processes can often lead to side effects or unintended consequences when these movements are organic and unplanned. These outcomes are not always positive and can trigger phenomena like gentrification, which can become a major social problem, directly impacting low-income populations. Nonetheless, it is also clear that certain transformations typically associated with this phenomenon can bring improvements and reactivate underutilized spaces in urban centers; the threshold between this scenario as a virtue or a detriment remains a subject of ongoing debate among architects and urban planners.

Architecture and Urbanism students and faculty from across the country will have a unique opportunity to present their work to professionals from around the world during the 27th World Congress of Architects, UIA2020RIO, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro from July 19 to 23 next year. This opportunity is part of the National Exhibition and Award “All the worlds. Just one world. Architecture 21”, whose open call is now available.

The Rio de Janeiro Department of the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB-RJ) announced on December 14 the winners of the 56th Annual Awards and the 35th Architect of Tomorrow Award. The announcement took place at the Casa do Arquiteto Oscar Niemeyer, IAB-RJ's headquarters in Flamengo, accompanied by an exhibition of all competing entries. The jury unanimously decided to award the 2018 IAB/RJ Grand Prize to the Aruá Building, by FGMF Arquitetos.

Aiming to value the practice and intellectual production of architects and urban planners, as well as academic work produced in architecture courses, the 35th Architect of Tomorrow Award was open to recent graduates and students enrolled from the 5th semester onward. Interested students could submit proposals produced as mandatory coursework during the second academic semester of 2017 and the first academic semester of 2018, either individually or in teams, with up to one submission per category across the nine categories established by IAB-RJ. In the 2018 edition, nine categories were available: building architecture; cultural facility architecture; cultural heritage, restoration, and adaptive reuse; technology and innovation in architecture; theoretical production; urbanism and landscaping; social housing; and metropolitan impact. 

Below is the list of winners and honorable mentions for both awards.

One of the greatest constraints in construction is the budget; great ideas and innovative proposals can easily hit financial barriers and remain there, never actually getting off the drawing board. To help architects, engineers, and builders better organize construction budgets, Antônio Fascio, an information systems graduate, founded OrçaFascio.

As part of our monthly topic (travel), we invited several Brazilian and Portuguese architecture firms to suggest buildings and public spaces in their respective cities that are well worth a visit. In Brazil, projects in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Olinda, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre will inspire our readers to get to know the country better—or cross the Atlantic to visit works in the Portuguese cities of Guimarães, Porto, and Lisbon.

According to Flávio Kiefer, museums are as old as human history itself. They have existed ever since humans began collecting and storing valuable objects in rooms built specifically for that purpose. Today, museums are more than environments that organize history: their programs are diverse and complex, their spaces flexible, and innovations are constant in the conservation, exhibition, and lighting of artworks. This week's Arquicast spoke with architect and specialist Carlos Eduardo Ribeiro about museum architecture and the entire debate surrounding this prestigious architectural program.

The Municipal Council of Cultural Heritage of Ponta Grossa has denied the heritage-listing request for two of the last preserved modernist houses in the city. The properties are the 1948 Correia de Sá Family Residence, designed by João Vilanova Artigas, and the 1950 Justus Family Residence, designed by Miguel Juliano, an architect from Goiás who gained national prominence for his public works.

The subject of a fire that led to its collapse, the Wilson Paes de Almeida building, located in downtown São Paulo, is the focus of the documentary Pele de Vidro, directed by Denise Zmekhol, daughter of the architect responsible for the skyscraper's design, Roger Zmekhol.

The visual stimulus that triggered this research[1] was the suggestive ambiguity of the letter m/h. Less glamorous than roadside motels, these motel-hotels are an affordable invitation to sexual fulfillment. To capture both their material and intangible complexity, the work is structured as a fiction. In doing so, the narrator imagined within these motel-hotels the potential to reveal other component parts of herself—as if these places, in their ambiguity and anonymity, could facilitate this encounter. In a simultaneous process of liberation and frustration, the multiple narrators find agency.

The Federal District government announced mid-last month plans to build the Bible Museum based on Oscar Niemeyer's 1987 sketches. Local architecture and urbanism organizations have expressed concern over the plans, which could significantly affect the preservation of the federal capital's Monumental Axis.

LED bulbs have become ubiquitous due to their low energy consumption, durability, and increasingly affordable prices. However, our need for illumination can work against us if we do not understand the effects of this type of light on the body.

While we have previously addressed light temperatures, warm and cool lighting, and the dangers of blue light regarding sleep cycles and eye strain, we must now also consider the phototoxicity of blue light.

Among the various programs within architectural and urban planning practice, projects for public spaces are perhaps those that most encourage professionals to build a rich narrative, drawing upon the multidisciplinarity inherent to the craft. Designing spaces destined for everyday public use and appropriation reflects how architects envision urban life, opening up a platform for collective dialogue on the subject.

Estúdio Módulo de Arquitetura, a firm led by Marcus Vinicius Damon and Guilherme Bravin, has won the competition for the new headquarters of the Association of Engineers and Architects of Sorocaba (AEAS). Below, see the proposal along with the project description.

Videos

Architect and artist Tom Capobianco shared with us a series of recent works that explore the tension between the two-dimensionality of the frame and architectural space through environments encapsulated within wooden frames.

The City of São Paulo is launching a public consultation today, May 17, regarding the project for the park to be built over the Presidente João Goulart elevated highway—popularly known as the Minhocão—which was announced in February of this year. The new public space will span a section of approximately 900 meters between Praça Roosevelt and Largo do Arouche.

It is well known that our cities are increasingly saturated by automobile use; mobility has therefore become a key element in any discussion on urban living, particularly in large Brazilian cities. This premise prompts us to examine and better understand which aspects of urban commuting we can prioritize for intervention, moving toward approaches where car use is less necessary. An important step in this dialogue is understanding just how time-efficient cars actually are. Mapping Lab conducted a visual analysis of 27 Brazilian capital cities using data from the here.com platform.

+ 23

A survey by CAU/BR conducted in partnership with the Datafolha Institute has revealed new insights into the professional profile of architects and urban planners in Brazil. This is the largest survey conducted in the country since the Census of Architects and Urban Planners in 2012, which was carried out when all professionals registered with the newly created Council of Architecture and Urbanism. "We need precise information to guide CAU's initiatives, both for the entity's planning and to improve communication with professionals," said the president of CAU/BR, Luciano Guimarães.

The results of the 12th CBCA Competition for Architecture Students, themed "Ideas and Innovation Factory," have been announced. Students submitted proposals for an idea development center designed for researchers, entrepreneurs, and academics. The facility was required to provide the necessary infrastructure to house laboratories and workshops, as well as the essential features to attract investment and promote local projects.

Twenty-first-century architecture and urban planning have at their disposal numerous technologies that help architects and planners think about space. Today, innovations such as augmented reality, hyper-realistic renderings, and 3D printing, among others, are part of the daily routine of the profession. Yet, none of these may influence the design process as profoundly as BIM technology, the acronym for Building Information Modeling. Its application demands that architects adopt a new approach to the construction of our buildings.