The Paulista Avenue is undoubtedly one of the most important and iconic places in the city of São Paulo. An avenue of mixtures, among the ancient and the modern, the colors, races and social classes.
If you ask a São Paulo citizen or foreigner who is spending a season in Brazil what is their favorite place in São Paulo, the name ” Paulista Avenue” will surely appear several times. From buildings that still retain a past not so distant, but a little forgotten, to the modern and glazed skyscrapers, the avenue stands out for the beauty of its architectural constructions.
We talked with two architecture students, Renata Campedelli and Ana Lígia Magalhães, and with the architect Fábio de Paula, in order to understand from an architectural bias, the motives of some buildings present peculiar and important characteristics for the history of São Paulo.
For Renata, student of architecture at UFSC, two buildings stand out for their contrast between traditional and modern forms. “The Savoy Building demonstrates the beauty of a restored historic building that stands out among so many buildings under the modernism of architecture,” she says. With the glass of the windows they put in its renovation together with the balconies, columns and marquees, the Savoy resumes an eclectic style that can still be perceived in buildings of the center of the capital.
The Comendador Yerchanik Kissajikian Building, in contrast, marks the evolution of architecture and engineering through the strength that the glass has gained. Its charm, for the future architect, is marked by the feature dividing the whole facade into two that attract the glances.
Ed. Savoy
Comendador Yerchanik Kissajikian Building
The avenue, as we have said, still carries with it marks of an architecture marked by traces of time. ”Casa das Rosas”, for example, proves to be resistant among the technological transformations undergone by the buildings around it. The historic palace has its beauty highlighted in the style of the roof and in the upper and lower body guard with subtle ornaments that mark their time with style.
Casa das Rosas
Another great icon of Paulista and Brazilian cultural symbol is the MASP – Museum of Art of São Paulo – founded by the journalist Assis Chateaubriand, is an excellent example of a building that allows a good relationship and transition between the public and the private space. By creating a public space crucial to events and events of national importance, MASP and the quality of the building itself, has became important in the architectural scenario, as explained by USP architecture student, Ana Lígia Magalhães.
Renata reinforces that construction revolutionized modern architecture in the 1950s marked by color, a grand portico that carries much of the structural weight of the building and a large free span connecting the avenue to the museum, highlighting its strength and its invitation to enter.
MASP
The national ensemble, functionalist project of the architect David Libeskind, also excels in the connection between public and private spaces on the ground level, and manages to solve the challenges of multipurpose buildings, such as integration and circulation, especially in the commercial area, always prioritizing pedestrians, explains the architect and professor of the Cásper Líbero University, Fábio de Paula Assis Júnior.
For Ana, the building allows a permeability on the court, while occupying a relatively large area. “It’s very different from what we see in the shopping centers lately, away from the street, from the pedestrian – for example the Shopping Cidade São Paulo. As well as the national ensemble, the Gazeta building also makes a very beautiful transition between the interior and exterior space with the Staircase, besides being beautiful the part of the cinema and the difference of level in relation to the sidewalk,”, completes the student.
Conjunto Nacional
Gazeta Building
The architect and professor of Design also highlights the peculiarity of two important buildings to the history of Paulista Avenue. The United Nations building, work of the architect Abelardo de Souza, connects with priority to the sidewalk and the commercial gallery. The tower is for residential use and features apartments with lower floors of different configuration, and effectiveness in the use of the useful spaces of each property. In addition, it brings together elements of Brazilian modernism, such as pilotis and a mural facing the public area.
The Cetenco Plaza, designed by the architects Rubens Carneiro Vianna and Ricardo Sievers, allows pedestrians to freely circulate and enjoy part of the original landscape project of the architect Luciano Fiaschi, which includes water mirror and own furniture – whose brutalist character follows the identity of the towers. “The set of towers is one of the rare examples of an open court in the city of São Paulo,” Fabio concludes.
Ed. Nações Unidas
Cetenco Plaza