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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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The construction industry today faces an unavoidable paradox: the urgent need for sustainable solutions for the future of cities collides with the exhaustion of the term "sustainability" itself, often reduced to a hollow commercial label. In this scenario, Arquivo – one of the winners of ArchDaily's 2025 Next Practices Award – emerges as a facilitator and mediator between different stakeholders in the construction field through disassembly – or rather, de-construction – and the reuse of building elements. Etymologically, if "construction" derives from the Latin construere (to heap up, assemble), the prefix "de-" imposes a conceptual inversion: it is not about destroying, but about disassembling with intelligence to understand the logic of the parts.

While conventional demolition practices generate a vast volume of waste and energy consumption, Arquivo proposes reuse as a viable alternative for the circular economy. The company operates in the gap between disposal and new construction, guided by a clear premise: "Reuse is only fully realized when the material gains a new life."

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