Sao Paulo Architecture: A Photo Essay
Daniel Allen
At the start of the last century, the Brazilian city of São Paulo was home to a mere 239,000 inhabitants - it now boasts over 11 million. Despite the whirlwind urban growth, and in many ways because of it, the São Paulo of recent decades has become a hotbed of talented Brazilian architects. Today visiting architectural enthusiasts can revel in a range of cutting edge structures which now define much of the city's built landscape.
Ibirapuera Auditorium
Oscar Niemeyer, the doyen of Brazilian contemporary architecture, may be more famously connected with the architecture of Brasilia, but his imprint can still be seen in São Paulo.
Together with the nearby Museum of Modern Art (MAM) by the equally legendary Paulista architect Lina Bo Bardi, Niemeyer's striking Ibirapuera Auditorium embodies São Paulo's love of modern architecture and the avant garde.
Inside the auditorium, which regularly features musical performances, red and white is also the dominant color theme. An imposing, organic sculpture by Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake winds around much of the wall and ceiling of the foyer, its deep red lines accentuating a curved white staircase on the left of the foyer. The auditorium also features art by Tomie Ohtake and Luís Antônio Vallandro Keating.
Instituto Tomie Ohtake
More work by the nonagerian Ms. Ohtake can be viewed at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake. Dedicated to showcasing her work, the institute occupies the first two floors of a wildly flamboyant office tower designed by her son Ruy Ohtake, a Niemeyer protégé and one of São Paulo's leading architects. The curving facade in tones of metallic magenta and violet is particularly eye-catching, while basement restaurant Santinho is well worth checking out.
Pavilhão Lucas Nogueira Garcez
Sitting close to the Ibirapuera Auditorium is another futuristic Niemeyer building which perfectly complements its more recently constructed twin. Completed in 1951, and built to commemorate São Paulo's 400th anniversary, the Pavilhão Lucas Nogueira Garcez (above) is more popularly known by locals as Oca (Indian for "house"). While this exhibition space is said to resemble a traditional Native American dwelling, there's more than a touch of the extraterrestrial to its flattened dome shape and large circular windows.
Edifício Copan
Fans of Niemeyer's work should also be sure to take in São Paulo's Edifício Copan, a 140-metre high, 38-story residential building completed in 1966. Home to 5000 people and over 70 shops, this serpentine, monolithic structure is one of the largest buildings in Brazil, and has the largest floor area of any residential building in the world. It's so big it even has its own post code.
SESC Pompéia
Close to the Edifício Copan is another of São Paulo's architectural institutions - the SESC Pompéia. This former steel drum factory was converted into a complex of buildings for community activities and events between 1977 and 1986, following a blueprint by Brazil's most celebrated female architect, Lina Bo Bardi.
Museum of Art
Lina Bo Bardi was also responsible for another of São Paulo's landmark buildings - the city's iconic Museum of Art (Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP) completed in 1968. This suspended "floating art box", constructed in concrete and glass, sits on two u-shaped red columns and stores a collection ranging from the gothic to the abstract. The place is still hugely popular with the city's residents and regularly features concerts underneath.
Hotel Unique
Perhaps the Hotel Unique (pictured below) best embodies the brave new world of São Paulo architecture. Shaped like a giant slice of water melon, with a porthole-studded copper façade, this extravagant, post-modern landmark in the heart of the city's upscale Jardins neighborhood was also designed by Ruy Ohtake. Looking forward, it architects such as Ohtake, inspired by the likes of Niemeyer and Bo Bardi, who will further shape this great Brazilian city.
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