MMBB Arquitetos and Brasil Arquitetura: Regenerating Downtown São Paulo
Marta Moreira and Francisco Fanucci discuss recent cultural projects.
November 2, 2021
Recorded on May 20, 2021.
Current Work is a lecture series featuring leading figures in the worlds of architecture, urbanism, design, and art.
In this video, Marta Moreira of MMBB Arquitetos presents SESC 24 de Maio and Francisco Fanucci of Brasil Arquitetura presents Praça das Artes. These two cultural projects, located in the historic center of São Paulo, Brazil, have brought new services, programs, and public spaces to an area characterized by density, diversity, and neglect.
SESC 24 de Maio (MMBB Arquitetos and Paulo Mendes da Rocha, 2017), adapts a department store building into a multipurpose facility for the nonprofit SESC (Social Service of Commerce). Offering a wide range of services for members, as well as a number of programs and spaces that are free of charge and open to the general public, SESC 24 de Maio comprises exhibition space, a library, an auditorium, a dental clinic, a daycare center, a sports hall, a cafeteria, and a rooftop swimming pool.
A few blocks away, Praça das Artes (Brasil Arquitetura, 2012), which translates to Arts Square, transforms a city block through the restoration and expansion of the Drama and Music Conservatory of São Paulo. The new facility houses the city ballet, symphony, choir, and other performing arts organizations, as well as a concert hall, a restaurant, and gallery space.
The lecture was moderated by architect and curator Sol Camacho, founder of São Paulo- and Mexico City-based RADDAR and cultural director of Instituto Bardi/Casa de Vidro.
This event was organized by The Architectural League of New York and co-presented with The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union.
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