AV

Monografas Monographs
161 (2013)
PAULO MENDES DA ROCHA
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AV 161_Portada-BUENA.indd 1 20/06/2013 14:03:01
AV
Monografas Monographs
161 (2013)
Dir ector Editor
LuisFernndez-Galiano

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AV MonografasesmiembrodeARCE
Pr ecio en Espaa 30euros
ArquitecturaViva
Mayo-junio2013
3 LuisFernndez-Galiano
Pequeo gr an hombr e
Little Big Man
El constr uctor humanista
The Humanist Builder
6 GuilhermeWisnik
Ur banizar la vida: una tcnica compr ometida
Urbanizing Life: a Committed Technique
16 J osMaraGarcadel Monte
Estr uctur a y for ma en dos ar tefactos discr etos
Structure and Form in Two Discreet Artifacts
Una obr a con r aces
A Work Rooted in Place
24 Gimnasio del Club Atltico Paulistano, 1958-1961, So Paulo (Br asil)
Paulistano Athletic Club Gymnasium, 1958-1961, So Paulo (Brazil)
30 Sede social del Club de Hockey de Gois, 1962-1963, Goinia (Br asil)
Gois Hockey Club Social Center, 1962-1963, Goinia (Brazil)
34 Edificio Guaimb, 1964-1966, So Paulo (Br asil)
Guaimb Building, 1964-1966, So Paulo (Brazil)
38 Casa Mendes da Rocha, 1964-1967, So Paulo (Br asil)
Mendes da Rocha House, 1964-1967, So Paulo (Brazil)
44 Pabelln de Br asil en la Expo 70, 1969-1970, Osaka (Japn)
Brazilian Pavilion for Expo 70, 1969-1970, Osaka (Japan)
50 Casa Masetti, 1969-1970, So Paulo (Br asil)
Masetti House, 1969-1970, So Paulo (Brazil)
56 Casa Milln, 1970-1974, So Paulo (Br asil)
Milln House, 1991-2007, So Paulo (Brazil)
60 Escuela Infantil Jar dim Calux, 1972, So Ber nar do do Campo (Br asil)
Jardim Calux Kindergarten, 1972, So Bernardo do Campo (Brazil)
64 Estadio Municipal Ser r a Dour ada 1973-1975, Goinia (Br asil)
Serra Dourada Stadium, 1973-1975, Goinia (Brazil)
68 Casa King, 1972, So Paulo (Br asil)
King House, 1972, So Paulo (Brazil)
72 Casa Junqueir a, 1976-1980, So Paulo (Br asil)
Junqueira House, 1976-1980, So Paulo (Brazil)
76 Edificio Jar agu, 1984-1988, So Paulo (Br asil)
Jaragu Building, 1984-1988, So Paulo (Brazil)
80 Museo Br asileo de Escultur a, 1986-1995, So Paulo (Br asil)
Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, 1986-1995, So Paulo (Brazil)
86 Capilla de San Pedr o, 1987-1989, Campos do Jor do (Br asil)
Chapel of Saint Peter, 1987-1989, Campos do Jordo (Brazil)
90 Tienda For ma, 1987-1994, So Paulo (Br asil)
Forma Store, 1987-1994, So Paulo (Brazil)
94 Casa Ger assi, 1988-1991, So Paulo (Br asil)
Gerassi House, 1988-1991, So Paulo (Brazil)
100 Remodelacin de la Plaza del Patr iar ca, 1992-2002, So Paulo (Br asil)
Patriarca Square Remodeling, 1992-2002, So Paulo (Brazil)
104 Pinacoteca del Estado, 1993-1998, So Paulo (Br asil)
State Art Museum, 1993-1998, So Paulo (Brazil)
110 Centr o Cultur al FIESP, 1996-1998, So Paulo (Br asil)
FIESP Cultural Center, 1996-1998, So Paulo (Brazil)
114 Estacin de autobuses Par que Dom Pedr o II, 1996, So Paulo (Br asil)
Parque Dom Pedro II Bus Station, 1996, So Paulo (Brazil)
118 Muelle de las Ar tes, 2007-, Vitr ia (Br asil)
Quay of Arts, 2007-, Vitoria (Brazil)
126 Nuevo Museo Nacional de Coches, 2008-2013, Lisboa (Por tugal)
New National Coach Museum, 2008-2013, Lisbon (Portugal)
PAULO MENDES DA ROCHA
TodoslosderechosreservadosAll rights reserved
Depsito legal Legal registration: M-19601-2013
ISSN: 0213-487X
ISBN: 978-84-616-5065-1
Impr esin Printing: ArtesGrficasPalermo
Cubier ta Cover
Maquetadel NuevoMuseoNacional deCoches
Model of the New National Coach Museum
Tr aducciones Translations
LauraMulas, EduardoPrieto, MaiteBguena
Estarevistarecibiunaayudaalaedicindel
MinisteriodeEducacin, CulturayDeporte
0-Sumario AV161.indd 1 21/06/2013 13:54:37
2 Mes-mes1998AV Monogr afas 7?
presenta LFG.indd 2 21/06/2013 13:58:06
AV Monogr aphs 161 2013 3

Paulo MendesdaRochaesunhombremenudo quehaconstruido obrascolosales.
Delicaday brutal, suarquitecturaexpresaconrefinadacontundencialasconviccio-
nesy sueosdelageneracinquefuejovenenlosturbulentosaossesentadel siglo
pasado. Atentosalalgicadelatcnica, y fascinadospor lasproezasestructurales,
aquellosjvenesasumierontambinconfrecuenciaunaposturacrticafrenteala
sociedadindustrial, y uncompromiso poltico frentealospoderesestablecidosque
semanifest enPars, Pragao CiudaddeMxico, alimentando laresistenciafrente
alasdictadurasmilitaresdelapocaenel sur del continenteamericano. LaEscuela
Paulistaqueprotagonizarajunto aVilanovaArtigas expresaraesetalantecon
obrasdegranatrevimiento estructural y provocacinprogramtica, enel empeo
por fusionar laasperezalricadel ltimo LeCorbusier (queinspiraratambinlas
audaciasconstructivasdeTangeo Testa) conlasubversindeloslmitesentrelo
ntimo y lo pblico, y entreciudady paisaje.
Lalevedadtitnicadeestas construcciones queseabrenal mbito colectivo,
colocando larigurosageometradesusformassobreel ordenazaroso delageografa
o lacircunstanciaurbana, reconcilianenefecto lo domstico conlo poltico, pero
alavez renenel logro estructural conlaminuciosidaddel detalleenunasntesis
tcnicay potica. Estagalaxiaoximornicadeoposicionesseexpresademanera
elocuenteenel contrasteentrelasdiminutasmaquetasqueempleael arquitecto para
imaginar susobrasy losgrandesplanosdeestructurasquesirvenparaconstruirlas,
reuniendo lainteligenciadel artistaconladel ingeniero paraconformar invenciones
que, como aseguraGarcadel Monte, no necesitanmaterializarseparaser edificios.
Dehecho, lastresobrasqueWisnik destacacomo esencialessondifcilesdeapreciar
ensurealidadconstruidapoco accesibley deteriorado el Gimnasio Paulistano,
desaparecido el pabellndeOsaka, y tristementealterado el Museo deEscultura
y eso ennadamodificasuvalor intemporal.
Trabajando como siempredesdesudestartalado estudio deSo Paulo, estecrea-
dor comprometido consupasy sugenterecibi en2006el premio Pritzker enlos
solemnessalonesdel Palacio deDolmabahe, frenteal mismo TayyipErdognque
estosdasseenfrentaaunhervor deprotestaspopularesno muy diferentesdelas
quesacudenBrasil enamboscasosmotivadaspor conflictosurbanos, y donde
el corografo ErdemGndz hadesafiado al rgimenpermaneciendo inmvil en
laplazaTaksim: slo unhombredepie. Mendes daRochainaugur enJ apn
suobramsemocionanteen1970, y eseao Arthur Pennestren Little Big Man,
mostrando conDustinHoffmanladignidaddel individuo valeroso, el ciudadano
depiequehallamosigual enEstambul o enSo Paulo; enlapelcula, el jefeindio
DanGeorgevefrustradossusdeseosdeentregarseal GranEspritu: A vecesla
magiafunciona, y avecesno. El pequeo granarquitecto brasileo usatambin
lamagiay, funcioneo no, continadepie.
Luis Fernndez-Galiano
Paulo Mendes da Rocha is a slight man who has built
colossal works. Delicate and brutal, his architecture
expresses with bold refinement the convictions and
dreams of the generation that was young during
the turbulent sixties of the past century. Attentive to
the logic of technique, and fascinated by structural
challenges, those youngsters often assumed a critical
stance towards industrial society, and a political
commitment against established power that took the
streets in Paris, Prague or Mexico City, also fueling
the resistance against the military dictatorships of the
time in South America. The Paulista School which
he would lead with Vilanova Artigas would express
that mood through structurally innovative buildings
and daring programs, bent on merging the lyrical
roughness of the last Le Corbusier (who would also
inspire the constructive feats of Tange or Testa) with
the subversion of the boundaries between private and
public, city and landscape.
The titanic lightness of these constructions that open
up to collective space, placing their rigorous geometries
over the haphazard order of geography or urban form,
reconcile the domestic with the political, but at the
same time bring together structural challenge and
meticulous detailing in a technical and poetic synthesis.
This oxymoronic galaxy of oppositions expresses itself
eloquently in the contrast between the tiny models
used by the architect to imagine his works and the
large plans of their structures, joining the wisdom of
the artist with that of the engineer to shape inventions
which, as Garca del Monte explains, do not need to
be materialized to be considered buildings. In fact, the
three works Wisnik highlights as essential are hard to
be fully appreciated in their built form the Paulistano
Gymnasium is deteriorated and difficult to access, the
Osaka Pavilion was demolished, and the Sculpture
Museum has been sadly altered , but this in no way
changes their timeless value.
Working as always from his dilapidated studio of So
Paulo, this architect committed to his country and his
people received in 2006 the Pritzker Prize in the solemn
halls of Istanbuls Dolmabahe Palace, in the presence
of the same Tayyip Erdogan who today faces a wave of
protests not very different from those spreading across
Brazil in both cases motivated by urban conflicts ,
and where the choreographer Erdem Gndz has
challenged the regime standing motionless on Taksim
Square: just a man standing. Mendes da Rocha
inaugurated his most moving work in Japan in 1970,
and that year Arthur Penn released LittleBigMan,
with Dustin Hoffman as the embodiment of the dignified
and brave individual, the standing citizen we find in
Istanbul or in So Paulo; in the film, Chief Dan George
is thwarted in his desire to offer himself to the Great
Spirit: Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it
doesnt. The little big architect from Brazil also uses
magic, and whether it works or not, he is still standing.
Pequeo gr an hombre
presenta LFG.indd 3 21/06/2013 13:58:08