lernerinterview.pdf

7/27/2019 Lernerinterview.pdf

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On April 7, 2005, Scapes 4 interns and ParsonsArchitecture faculty member, Matthew Baird, engagedJaime Lerner in a conversation about his work. [Seerelated timeline on page 19.] Lerner was the 2005presenter of the Michael Kalil Lecturer on Natural/Technological Systems.

Matthew Baird, Michael Hargens (M.Arch 2006), Benjamin Ives (M.Arch 2005), Nicholas LockeM.Arch 2006), Santiago Rivera (M.Arch 2005) and Kassia Walker (M.Arch 2005)

a discussion with jaime lerner

L to R Michael Hargens,Jaime Lerner, Benjamin Ives.

Jaime Lerner, born in Curitiba, Brazil in1937, graduated in Architecture

and Urban Planning rom the School o Architecture o the

Federal University of Parana in 1964. Responsible for the creation

and structuring o the Institute o Urban Planning and Research

o Curitiba (IPPUC) in 1965, he participated in the preparation o the

Master Plan or Curitiba. He was Mayor o Curitiba or three terms:

1971/75, 1979/83 and 1989/92. During his first term as mayor, Lerner

implemented the Integrated Mass Transport System, acknowledged

worldwide or its e ciency, quality nd low cost. In his two subsequent

terms, Lerner continued to develop urban and social program that

resulted in the ranking o Curitiba among the world citie s with the

highest quality of life. Elected Governor of the State of Parana in

1994, Lerner promoted economic and social transor mations, andgenerated improvements in transport, land use, ducation, health,

sanitation, recreation and industrialization. The state o Parana

received the Child and Peace Award from the UNICEF for the From

the Street to School, Protecting Li e and Teachers University

programs. Re-elected governor in 1998, his second term nded in

2002. In July 2002, Mr. Lerner was elected president o International

Union of Architects, for a three-year term.

The Michael Kalil Endowment or Smart Design was established

in 2001 at Parsons School o Design in memory o designer Michael

Kalil. Kalils career crossed many disciplines, encompassing the work

o educator, interior architect, philosopher, scientist and artist. Previous

lecturers have included William McDonough, Thomas Herzog, and Julie

Bargmann. 2005 Recipients o Michael Kalil Fellowships are FABRICAthree

(for an eco-effective design for the Williamsburg Waterfront State Park);

MatthewBaird ( or workshops that will develop methodologies or

understanding how to use per ormance criteria and speci cations to

select sustainable materials and processes); Michael Hargens ( or an

extensive investigation o green roo s); Sian Kleindienst ( or travel to Ecole

Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne to do research on modifying the

design o anidolic Daylighting systems);Paul Makovsky ( or developinga knowledge map, timeline, and bibliography relating to important

examples o sustainable houses in the United States and Canada).

Matthew Baird is a aculty member o the Department o Architecture,

Interior Design and Lighting at Parsons The New School or Design. While

working at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Associates, he was the project architect

on the American Museum of Folk Art. In 1999, He founded Matthew Baird

Design, whose recent projects include the Tai Ping Carpet Showroom and

a newly constructed townhouse in the Meatpacking District, New York.

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enam n ves: How easy i you n t e transition rombeing an architecture student to engaging political systemsin Curitiba? Did you develop skills in school that you feel

were transferable?

a me erner:

T e s i s I got in sc oo were t e sameyou would get in any school of architecture. But afterfinishing school I got a scholarship to go to France, whereI staye or one year. During t is time, I too a course in

r an panning , an I got t e c ance to wor a t Can i i s,Josic, and Woods when they won the Toulouse Le Mirailcompetition. I used to draw all night, and then I would goto t e university. An every nig t, at a out t ree or our int e morning, I wou wa t roug t e st reets o Pari s. Atthat time, the Toulouse Le Mirail project was considered asignificant contribution to city planning. When I returnedto Curiti a, t e mayor was in t e process o trying to

tear own many o t e most important ui ings in t ecity to make very wide streets for more cars. As a studentin the early 60s, I had participated in a movement againstt at. In response to t is protest, t e Curiti a City Hasoicite a pan. An w en I came ac to Curiti a, in1962, I was part of a small team of young architects - whohad no experience at all! - that made a proposal in theform of ideas. We lost to a French firm that won together

wit a rm rom So Pauo But, t ey nee e a ocacounterpart, an I was one o t e arc itects t at ma e upthis counterpart. Thats how I went from being involvedin a student movement to getting involved in urban issuesin Curiti a. Because o t e stu ent movement, t e mayorcreate a in o a v isory g roup, an out o t i s a v isorygroup we founded an institute of urban planning thatgenerated some ideas. This city-funded research institutesti exists an continues to propose new ur an panning

i eas. T e mayor appoints its irector. I was its irectorfor a while and then became director of city planning. Inthose days, mayors were appointed not elected, and I wasappointe mayor y t e governor o t e region, in 1971.I was appointe ecause it was t oug t an arc itect or an

rban planner would not threaten the broader politicalleadership! And I was a very weak mayor because beingappointe I cou e re t e next ay. So I organize a

team o pro essiona s, most y arc itects, very youngIwas thirty-three years old. And, I told them, we now havea chance to propose something new. But, we have to do itvery fast, because probably next week we wont be here. Butin actuaity every time we rea ize a proposition, we gotmore support rom peop e. It was a time w en t e city oCuritiba faced many important changes, physical changessuch as transport issues, structuring the growth of thecity, t e eveopment o environmenta issues, as we aseconomic an cutura issues. At t at time, peop e t oug tthat Curitiba would grow to be as big as San Paolo. But

we didnt want to be as adas Sao Paolo -- not as big, andnot as a ! We wante our city to grow ut a so to provi ea goo qua ity o i e. An we a our own regionacharacteristics. Curitiba is a 300 year-old city that belongsto a state where theres ethnic diversity. The first proposalo t e ur an p anning institute invo ve t e protection o

t e istoric area an a esign or a transport system.

Kassia Walker: utside of school, architects often haveto ea wit imite resources, an poiticians, anureaucracies. From w at Ive rea a out you, it seems

that youre very capable of cutting through bureaucraciesvery quickly. What are the methods you use to do that?

: I ont ave a met o . Peope o ten say, its notpossi e or t is was never one e ore. An I a ways say,

why not? I think that is the start of a process of innovation.Its important to understand popular feedback, and tocorrect misun erstan ings. For exampe, ta e cities. Citiesare not as comp ex as t e comp exity se ers want us tothink. A city is basically a structure for living and workingtogether, and the more you mix urban functions, the moreyou mix incomes, t e more you mix ages, t e c oser you

are to aving a more umane city. For examp e, everytime economic activities are separated from other humanactivities, its disastrous. The most important element ofcity i e is t e street, w ic is a synt esis o ur an i e. Iyou ave goo streets, you ave a goo city. From my40 years of experience, I would say that no matter what thescale, and no matter what the finances of a city, all cities canma e signi cant improvements in as itt e as a two-year perio .

jaimelerner14


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KW: So is it more about getting people to cooperate and tosee that they share a community?

:You ave to ave po itica wi . You ave to aveleadership. But if you dont, you have to push. I amcurrently working as an advisor in some cities where peopleo many cutures, wit many i erent s i s, want toimprove t eir cities. For examp e, in Mexico, in Oaxaca.

Santiago Rivera: Well, Oaxaca is a case of a city withan extreme y ric istorica cu ture an a sti -existingin igenous society wit a eig tene sense o community.

JL: Thats true. In addition to political will, you haveto try to ee t e ci ty t roug i ts a iy pro ems . Forexamp e, you ave to un erstan t e pro ems peop eface in using public transport, understand the problemsthat children encounter. This information can be gottenrom socio ogists, rom teac ers, rom journaists, rom

p i osop ers. Journa ists, or examp e, are use to aiydeadlines, so they are able to condense well. I also work

with poets a nd with art ists. Why? Beca use they can feelsociety earlier, through the skin. So, if you can work withpeope t at are a e to ee society ear ier, w y s ou you

wor wit specia ists t at get t eir impressions ater? A so,

although you have to work in direct relation to eoplesneeds, you also have to work with potentialities. As amayor, I organize myse an my team to wor witpotentia ities in t e mornings, scenarios to a ress t eneeds and the problems of large populations, transport,education, government, the care of children, etc. So int e a ternoons I was very com orta e putting on mymayors at an eaing wit un amenta issues anpressures. I think of every problem in the city as involvingan equation of core responsibility. So, for example, ourtransport system was reso ve t roug a private initiativet at oug t t e ou e-art icuate us eet , an we paythe private owners by kilometer. And the result is one of thebest transport systems in the world, and one of the few thatis not su si ize . T is is an equation o core responsi i ity.

SR: Id like to go back to Mexico or to many examples

around the world, such as Africa or South America, wherethe implementation of a culture of change or sustainabilityas to e enacte at a regiona sca e. In many cases, t e

basic needs of a population are not being satisfied, soplanning is elaborated more at the level of satisfyingprimary needs. In such contexts, people cant grasp orun erstan g o a environmenta pro ems. So, ow wouy

ou, as a poitician, e p a community to un erstan t iscooperation that you talk about?

JL:Well, Ill give you an example I often use, the problemgar age. T e s ums in our region are more or ess ine i s or in t e va eys . T e tras t rown out in t e se

lums was polluting the streams, in which the children

were playing. This was terrible. Every strategy and proposalo resove a pro em as to e very un erstan a e an

it as to e esira e. I not, no o y wi cooperate. So,we proposed to buy their garbage. People said, this guy is

razy, hes going to buy garbage! But we had to pay anywayo co ect gar age, so t ey were as e to ring ags oar age an we gave t em transport to ens in exc ange.

The exchange provided income to them and at the sameime they learned why its important to control waste.

T is as een going on or more t an sixteen years. Wenee e to ave gar age sorte so we starte teac ing t ehildren how to do it, in their schools. The children teachheir parents, so now every family separates. We have the

highest rate of waste separation in the world right now, upo 70 percent o ouse o s. Wit regar to environmenta

issues suc as g o a warming or t e ozone ayer, peopewatch the situation as though it was a terminal patient:

how sad that there is nothing to be done. Separate yourar age; use your car ess; ive an wor c oser toget er.U

r an p anning proposa s or transport ave to re ate toland use. One of the secrets of Curitiba is that we have very

iverse neighborhoods. The rich live with the poor andat ma es or a sense o community. W en you separate

conomic activities rom uman sett ements, w en youeparate working from living, it is disastrous for cities, andlso for regions and countries in general. Its very easy to

Curitiba, Brazil. View of main artery, showing centraledicated bus lanes that facilitate high-speed surface transit, a

less-expensive alternative to an underground subway system.

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plan economically without people! In Curitiba, we didnot accept polluting industries. Sometimes Im asked,

w at is t e esign o t e uture city? I say, isten, t e cityo t e uture wi not ave Frenc an scape esign, as t eoptimists would like. And it wont look like laderunner as the pessimists would like. The city of today is not soi e rent p ysica y rom t e c ity o t ree un re years

ago. W at wi ma e t e ig i erence in uture cities is

the question of job generation. And in many cities thismeans that, more and more, clothing industries and foodin ustries wi ave to e c ose to ousing. T ese are notin ustries t at po ute. An eisure activities s ou eclose to housing, so they can be part of normal life. I thinkthat being the leisure planner for your family is a veryi cu t tas !

Nicholas Locke: I want to pick up on where youre goingwith leisure activities. How would you make some of youri ea situations or uture cities popu ar or more t an justan arc itectura crow ?

JL: First of all, I think that every child should learn howto raw er/ is own city. Because i t ey un erstan t eircities, t ey wi respect t em. So, w at is t e secret oCuritiba? There is no real secret. Every time we had an

idea, or put forward a proposal, we tried to make peopleunderstand the scenario. If they liked it, they helped toma e it appen. I not, we a to c ange t ings. Oneproblem is that neighborhood movements are very strong

with regard to their neighborhoods, but not so strong withregard to the city as a whole. I think that many countriesont ave a go a enoug approac to pro ems , w i e

many cities ave too g o a an approac ; t eyre notspecific enough.

Le t View o bus boarding tubesin Curitiba. Fares are paid onentering boarding tubes, whichare elevated to bus entry level.Elevator platorm raises wheel-chair bound riders to door levelbe ore bus arrives. Both o thesedevices speed the transit timeor riders.

R ig t Opera de Arame, Curitiba,1992. Designed by DomingosBongestabs. The building islocated in a disused quarry, andis constructed o pre

abricatedtubular steel ramework.

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t e Wor Ban or 800 mi ion o ars to cean t e irbays. But we had to work with a different economy. So weasked, how do we avoid pollution? Where does pollution

come from? From sewage or from trash. So, I made anagreement wit t e s ermen. I t ey caug t a s , iteonge to t em. I t ey caug t gar age , we oug t i t

from them. So, if the day was not good for fishing, theywent fishing for garbage. The more you fish for garbage,t e greener t e ay ecomes. T e c eaner t e ay is,t e more s t e y a ve . We a s o p ai a mont y s u s i y to families whose food needs werent being met, in order toinduce them to enter into the program. But the cost wasnot ing compare wit 800 mi ion o ars. I wou nt sayt e ay is a soute y c ean, ut its c eaner. It wi ecomecleaner and cleaner and cleaner. So, when money is notavailable, you have to find a way to do it.

: W at o you t in arc itects can o in i erenttypes of, specifically capitalist, cultures to be able to beheard more?

: You ave t e same pro ems t at we ave - pro emsof transport, environment, education, health care, andthe care of children. Our problems are increased throughless income, but you have the same problems. First of all,I t i n a rc i tec ts s ou e p repare t o wor w it u r anpro ems. T at was my interest in eing presi ent o t eU.I.A. I decided to invest all of my energy into makingarchitects more interested in the future of cities. Because

not a arc itects can ecome ig internationa stars. Howmany architectural stars are there in the world? My idea aspresident of the U.I.A. was that all architects should have

ideas for their own cities. So we started a competition lastyear an we got responses rom t irty countries an 400cities! T is is amazing. We a more t an ve- un reprojects from Egypt alone. From France and the U.S --almost nothing. Why? I dont know. I realized that everycountry s ou ave a i erent tas set y t e U.I.A.Since t e Itaian counci o arc itects is we -organize ,theyve agreed to produce a yearly competition through theinternet for both architects and architecture students. So,every year we ave an increasing num er o proposa sor cities. W y is t at so important? Because t e iscussion

of globalization has been considered in very mechanisticways, very antagonistically. I prefer the expression of a

ormer presi ent o Portuga w o sai t at we ave togo a ize so i ari ty. An t e ci ty is a re uge o soi ari ty.Its where all of the answers to problems of housing,transport, education, health care and the care of children can be

resove . An countries t at

ont ave a generous view o t eirown cities, ont ave a generous view o t eir own peope.

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Matthew Baird:When we talk about Curitiba, there is alot of optimism, and its such a wonderful success to study.

And immediately, the debate goes along the lines of well,

ow o we o t at in New Yor ? T ere is a perceptionthat there is really not much we can do, that the generalpublic feels disenfranchised here. And, I think one of theperfect examples of that right now is perhaps one of themost pu ic issues o ur an p anning t at we ave in t ecity, w ic you may ave rea a out. T ey want to puta stadium right in the middle of midtown. Hearing youspeak today, I started to think, maybe thats not such aa t ing, to mix a ig sports arena wit resi entia an

commercia use. But everyt ing in my own teac ing orlearning indicates that these economic generators shouldbe in areas that need economic development, not inareas w ere t e an is so expensive. W at o yout in a out t at?

JL: Im against big urban fabric works. Usually, its theastest way to trans er one congeste p ace to anot er

congeste p ace. My usua response to suc proposa s isDo nothing with urgency. When I say I support mixed-use zoning, Im not referring to something like a large-scalesta ium. W at it means is t at t ey ui a ig sta ium,an t e taxpayers ave to provi e in rastructure to increasethe land value so the developers will profit without sharingthe profit with the whole city or with the immediatecommunity. Its a very old story. Weve had people who

wante to onate t eir an or an in epen ent university.

But it was obvious that they owned adjacent land, andwed have to make infrastructural improvements and theywou ro t. I sai , no t an s, we want t e university to

e inside the city.

ichael Hargens: New York is a city in which structuresrun smoot y. But economica y an environmenta y,its not as rien y. So in t at case, ow o you get peopemotivated to change things? And then, how do youonvince the bureaucracy to do that?

:We , rst o a , you ave to ma e peop e un erstanhe problems. How do you deal with bureaucracies? I

would say you have to be fast. As a mayor, I accomplishedome t ings very quic y. T e rst pe estrian ma in t eountry, in Curiti a, was imp emente in seventy-two

hours. We built a big park in twenty-eight days. It can takewo or three years to build a park. You start with aerialp otograp y, i s rom arc itects an an scape arc itects,ontractors, etc. But sometimes you ave e ast.We ui t

theater, using an innovative structure, in two months.Weuilt Oscar Niemeyers big museum, a beautiful museum,

in ve mont s. So, w y is it important to e ast wit sucprojects? First y, to avoi your own ureaucracy;. Secon y,o avoid political problems. Thirdly, you have to do it fast

in order to avoid your own insecurities. In terms of fundingprojects, sometimes, you dont have the money, so you haveo evise an economica equation. W en I was governor,

we had to clean our harbors. In Rio they got a loan from

Free University or theEnvironment, Curitiba, 1992.

Designed by DomingosBongestabs. The building,located in a reused granite

quarry, is built romre-claimed eucalyptus wood

utility poles.

scapes 17

Oscar Niemeyer Museum,Curitiba, 2002. Designed byOscar Niemeyer.Photo: Laura Barbi

All images of Curitiba in this interview and in the Brazil timeline, unlessotherwise indicated, are courtesy of the Jaime Lerner Institute.


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brazil timeline20scapes 19

1695

Deposits o gold are discoveredin Minas Gerais. The miningrontier attracts a massive in u x

o migrants, up to 300,000Portuguese in the 18th century.

1776Jesuit monks are expelled from

ll Roman Catholic countries,ncluding Brazil, and theirmissions are destroyed. Theyre suspected o attempting to

build an independent empire inthe New World.

1791A slave revolt in Haiti leads to

devastation o the sugar industrythere and a consequent growth inexports rom Brazil. 1

816

The French Artistic Mission arrivesin Rio de Janeiro, led by JoachimLebreton and architect A.-H.-V.Grandjean de Montigny, initiatingthe strong and enduring in uenceo French styles.

1815Dom Jo , the head o the

Portugese royal amily,residing in Rio de Janeiro, issues

decree that elevates Brazil romts subordinate colonial status

state to the same categorykingdom that is enjoyed by

Portugal. Photo:www.libanbylody.

om.br/ imagens/djoao6.jpg

razi time ine 1500-2005This timeline, an attempt to provide a historical context for the discussion with Jaime Lerner, was researched andcoordinated by Scapes4 interns Benjamin Ives (M.Arch 2005), Komal Kehar (M.Arch 2006), Nicholas Locke (M.Arch2006), and Santiago Rivera (M.Arch 2005), in consultation with Sunil Bald, Parsons Architecture faculty member, andSilvia Kolbowski. Additional research was conducted in Brazil by Laura Barbi and Rita de Cssia Velloso. One of themain questions that underlay the selections was What could be pinpointed in the genealogy of Brazil to explain

Curitibas popular support for major public urban works projects? To that end, the categories that were researchedincluded political history, cultural history, urban history, and Brazilian land rights laws.

1487-2005

The Casts, Tabajaras, Xucurus,Garamhuns, Vouvs, Xocs,Fulnis and the Pimenteiras liven the state o Pernambuco,which is the rst region to beoccupied by the Portugues.Five hundred years o exposureto disease, violence anddispossession wiped out the vast

majority o Brazils indigenouspopulation. Today, there arearound 350,000 indigenouspeople scattered across Brazil, inover 200 tribes. 110 o the triballanguages o Br azil have less than400 speakers. Brazils tribes rangen size rom the Guarani and

Yanomami, who number in thetens o tho usands, to tribes suchas the Akuntsu and Kano , whonumber only a ew dozen.Photos: Yanomami tribe rituals

1

493-1494Spain and Portugal both claim

ownership of the New World.Pope Alexander VI separatesthe land by drawing a linerunning rom North to Southabout 100 leagues west o Cape

Verde Islands. The land to thewest is given to Spain, that

to the east to Portugal. Soontherea ter, Portugal and Spainsign the Treaty o Tordesillas,which moves the Popes line 370leagues west o the Cape Verdes.

1500

Jesuit priests invent a newlanguage to communicate withthe various indigenous groups,who spoke more than 700languages. It is a mix o Indian,Portuguese and A rican words.

1610The first Jesuit missions are

stablished among thendigenous population in theforested interior of what isnow Paraguay, Argentina, andBrazil. The missions comprise avast, sel -su cient network inwhich indigenous tribesmen are

ducated according to Europeandeas, and protected romnslavement.


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1831-18

40

Portugese crown moves toBrazil Dom Pedro II isrowned emperor o Brazilt the age o 6 years. A

parliamentary constitutional

monarchy is established,based on Britains model, butDom Pedro II exercises thepower o decide which politicalparty controls the national

overnment.1826

The Academia Imperial dasBelas Artes (Imperial Academy

of Fine Arts) is founded in Riode Janeiro. Image taken fromthe Guia de Arquitetura Eclticano Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Vera

Voto | Ncleo de Pesquisa eDocumentao FAU UFRJ.

1834-1841Despite public protest and

civil unrest in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil survives intact as a unitednation because of support givento government by the landedoligarchy and urban elite,who repress social unrest, andcontain the threat of racial warn order not to lose political andcommercial privileges.

1850The Land Law Act orbids the

acquisition o pu blic land byany means but purchase. End ofacquiring through squatting andgrants from the Crown.

1928Russian-born architect Gregori

Warchavchik designs the Casaa Rua Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz

House) in his adopted city of SoPaulo. The house demonstratesthe impact of Le Corbusiersmodernist villas of the 1920s.

1822Brazil is declared independent as

a monarchy, rather than declareda republic, as are other countriesin Spanish America. September7, 1822 is celebrated annually asBrazils Independence Day.

1934

The legal concept of socialproperty appears for the firsttime, the idea that the righto private property is only tobe recognized provided itper orms a social unction.Thishas been upheld in all ederalconstitutions since.1

929

Carmen Mirandas demo recordingis a sensation in Brazil. After tenyears o popularity, she goes to theUnited States, where she is knownas the lady in the tutti-ru itti hator the exotic lm costuming that

caricatures her South Americanidentity.

1930

-1954A military junta, headed by

Get lio Dornelles Vargas,temporarily assumes executivepowers. He serves as electedpresident between 1934 and1937, as dictator between1937 and 1945, as senatorbetween 1946 and 1951, andas elected president between1951 and 1954.

1896

Teatro Amazonas opens in

Manaus, Brazil, an attempt tooster culture in the Amazon

rubber-producing region, awayrom established cultural centers.

This region became a center orubber exportation.

1889Following a military coup detat,

the name o the country is alteredrom the Empire o Brazil to

The United States of Brazil.The separation o church andstate is decreed. The militarydictatorship lasts ve years.

1888

Slavery is abolished in Brazil.

1900The womens su rage movement

begins in Brazil.

1922

Grupo dos Cinco (Group o Five)hich includes Tarsila do Amaral,painter, (Antropoagia on the

le t), Anita Malatti (Tropical onhe right), Menotti del Picchia,

M rio de Andrade,and Oswalde Andrade, author o Pau-Brasil

(Braz i lwoo ), participate in TheModern Art Week in So Paulo.It is the culmination o a growingnterest n modern art, inspiredn part by the European avant-arde, beginning around 1915.

1936

SPHAN (Servio do PatrimnioHistrico e Artstico Nacional)s created to preservesome o Brazils most importantmonuments. Lcio Costa islosely involved with SPHAN,

where he remains until 1972.

1944Public pressure for the

adoption of democratic formsof government and an end tofascist-style dictatorship swellsin Brazil and throughout LatinAmerica.

1941

Decree-Law no.3.665 allows orland expropriation for reasons ofpublic utility.

1

935-42The Ministry o Edu cation in Rio de Janeiro

s constructed as designed by LucioCosta, Oscar Niemeyer, A onso Reidy,Carlos Leao, Jorge Moreira, and Ernanai

Vasconcelos. Le Corbusier is a consultant.Cndido Portinari executes murals or theMinistry o Education and later, in 1952,paints the twin murals War and Peace orthe United Nations headquarters in New

York. Photo Silvio Todeschi

Commissioned by Juscelino Kubitschek,mayor of Belo Horizonte, Pampulha is adevelopment initially designed by OscarNiemeyer on the banks of an artificiallake. Niemeyer designed a church, a yachtclub, a casino, and a dance hall in anarchitectural language that established avisual and constructional vocabulary for post-international school Brazilian modernism.Niemeyers original use of reinforced concreteallowed for an influential use of formalexibility and structural expression, while

always maintaining a relation to unctionalrequirements. Photo Ma rcelo da Mota Silva1

942-43

1927In Rio Grande do No

state in Brazil, electiare amended givingthe right to vote.

1940French architect Alred Agache

designs a city plan or Cutitiba.



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1948-1954Residential housing project, by

Lcio Costa is completed at ParkGuinle (top) in Rio de Janeiro.It is a signi cant complex omodern buildings derived romprinciples proposed by LeCorbusier. The buildings serveas a pattern or the residentialsuper-blocks in Braslia (bottom).Photos: Lucas Barbi and LauraBarbi

194

9-1951

A onso Reidy designs ThePedregulho project or thePopular Housing Department inRio. Pedregulho is an exampleo a new model dwelling oremployees whose salaries arenot high enough to buy or rentan apartment in the city. It iscomprised of four apartmentblocks, an elementary school, agymnasium, a swimming pool

with dressing rooms, a healthcenter, playgrounds, and a daycare center. Photo: Marcio Cotrim

1951The So Paulo Bienal is

inaugurated, and plays animportant role in advancingBrazilian and Europeanabstract art.

1964

A military coup takes place. Themilitary regime supports a policyo cen tralized economic control;it restricts political activities andrepresses opposition.

1964The Governments Economic

Action Plan highlights the needor massive public investment

in urban housing due to intenserural-urban migration andincreasing in ationary pressure.

1964

The Housing and UrbanismFederal Service is createdtogether with the BNH (NationalHabitation Bank), which is theprincipal ederal institutionresponsible o r managing urbandevelopment through private andpublic agencies and banks.

1956-1960Braslia is constructed to replace

the ormer capital, Rio de JaneiroThe plan o Bras lia is executedby Lcio Costa. Architect OscarNiemeyer designs the Senate,Secretariat, and Congressionalbuildings. Braslia symbolizesmodern national unity andattracts worldwide interest.(top: the Nacional Congress,bottom: Ministry Boulevard).Photos: Laura Barbi

195

4President Getlio Dornelles

Vargas commits suicide a terdaily public demonstrations. 1

95

9

Brazilian poet and criticFerreira Gullar publishes theNeoconcrete Maniesto, whichseeks to de ne the relationshipbetween European Concretismand its Latin American expressionAmong the artists associated with

the movement are Lygia Pape,who staged her NeoconcreteBallet in 1958, and Lygia Clark.

19

64-1968Iva Arvua, the mayor of Curitiba,

nnounces a call for proposals toprepare Curitiba for new growth.The government begins toxpropriate urban areas in order

to sell or rent them to privateevelopers committed to giving

them a social utilization.The Curitiba Institute o Researchnd Urban Planning (IIPUC)

s started by Jaime Lerner.A Master Plan o r the city is

esigned and adopted by Lerner,Jorge Wilheim, and Mayor IvaArzua. Plans include the addition

main transit arteries to Curitibaor direct and a ordable access

to and rom city.

1973Brazilian Constitutional

Complementary Law no.14 isenacted or certain designatedmetropolitan regions, establishingintegrated planning, basicsanitation, land use control, publictransportation and road systems,

production and distributionof natural gas, exploitation ofwater resources, and control ofenvironmental pollution. TheEnvironment Secretariat (SEMA)is created to discuss and makethe population more aware ofenvironmental questions.

The Art Museum o S Paulo(MASP), designed by Lina BoBardi, is completed. MASPs spectacularly sited parallelto the Avenida Paulista, andperpendicular to the Nove deJulho, a multilane thorough arethat cuts under the AvenidaPaulista. 1

971

Jaime Lerner appointed to firstterm as Mayor of Curitiba. Duringthis time the Teatro Paiol (left)is remodelled by Abro Assadin 1971 and the Rua das Flores(1972), the first pedestrianizedstreet in Brasil (right) is created.Photos: Laura Barbi1

968

1967Vilanova Artigas together with

Paulo Mendes da Rocha andFabio Penteado design inGuarulho one o the Brutalistmodels for a public urbanhousing complex: ConjuntoHabitacional Zezinho Magalhes

Pinto.

195

2

Literary magazine Noigan resnitiates the Brazilian element othe international concrete poetry

movement. This is ollowedn 1957 by the rst NationalConcrete Arts Exhibition.

1962Federal Law no. 4.132. allows

land expropriation for reasonsf social interest, makes it

possible for the government toxpropriate urban areas in order

to sell or rent them to privateevelopers committed to giving

them a social utilization.

1962Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos

Jobim and poet Vincius de Moraeswrite The Girl rom IpanemaPhoto: Laura Barbi

195

7

The Baeta House is designed byVilanova Artigas initiating thePaulistian Brutalistmovement.Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Rino

Levi and Ruy Ohtake, amongothers, are also associated withthis movement.



7/7

1985A ter more than two decades o

authoritarian military rule, JosSarney becomes Brazils rstcivilian president since 1964.

1988

Brazils ederated-states areallowed to institute metropolitanregions, urban agglomerationsand micro-regions, therebyntegrating the organization,planning and execution o publicunctions.

1988Luiza Erundina (Workers Party) is

lected as Mayor o So Paulo,the top elective o ce held by awoman in Brazil.

1988Brazilian Museum o Sculpture

is built in Sao Paulo, 1988-1995.Designed by Paulo Mendes daRocha. Photos: Laura Barbi.

1995

The Inter-American DevelopmentBank gives $180 million to theslum to neighborhood project.It seeks to integrate existingavelas into the abric o the city

through inrastruct ure upgradesand service increases. The projectinvolves 253,000 residents in 73communities in Rio de Janeiro.1

992

United Nations Con erence onEnvironment and Developmentheld in Rio de Janeiro.

1991The Speedybus is inaugurated

in Curitiba. and operates parallelto the busway axes and on otherhigh-demand routes, stoppingat tube stations where floor-levelplatforms are provided.

Photo: Jaime Lerner Institute

2001According to the World Bank

statistics, 22% o B razilians live onless that $2 a day in relation tothe international poverty line. 2

002Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, Brazils

rst le t-wing and working-classpresident, is elected due to apolitical platorm addressinginequalities in wealth and incomedistribution.

1984

Adopting the slogan o diretas j (direct elections now), massivepublic rallies are held in majorities, demanding the passage o aonstitutional amendment to allowirect popular elections or the

presidency in 1985.

1989Jaime Lerner elected to third

term as Mayor of Curitba. In1991 the Botanical Garden (left)

esigned by Abro Assad ispened as are in 1992 the Free

University or the Environmentnd the Opera de Arame (right),

both designed by DomingosBongestabs. Photos: Laura Barbi

1990

Urban Policy Bill enacted.Rewritten rom the NationalUrban Development Bill (1983).It seeks to materialize theconstitutional requirement o thesocial unction o property, andincludes legal instruments orland use control.

1979

Jaime Lerner appointed tosecond term as Mayor oCuritiba.1

974

The rst bus corridor iscompleted in Curitiba under theIIPUC, and extends 12.4 miles.

1977Completion o Boqueirao bus

corridor in Curitiba.

1981 deral Law no. 6.931 ormulates

the National Environmental Policy,which requires EnvironmentalImpact Reports as the conditionfor official authorization ofctivities and projects potentially

harmful to the environment.


1995Jaime Lerner elected governor

o Paran.

2001

The City Statute (Estatuto dasidades) is created. This lawstablishes architectural and

urban rules and guidelines or allBrazil. 2

003

Within the Brazilian edera lgovernment, the Ministry oCities is created, responsibleor developing, ormulating

and managing Brazils urbandevelopment policy to promotesocial inclusion and to universalizeaccess to basic urban servicessuch as housing, environmentalsanitation, urban tra c andmobility, land and territorialplanning and management, inpartnership with all spheres ogovernment and civil society.

1989The transition rom military

authoritarianism to civiliandemocracy is symbolicallymade complete by the holdingo direct popular elections orthe presidency, or the irst timesince 1960.

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