Luis Fernández-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. Att

Guilherme Wisnik   The oeuvre of Paulo Mendes da Rocha can be assessed through three buildings. The projects, separated by a thirty-year interval, all won public competitions. This is the case of the Paulistano Athletic Club Gymnasium (1958), in São Paulo; the Brazilia

José María García del Monte   The first impression the work of Paulo Mendes da Rocha leaves on an architect trained in Europe is not hard to remember, and could be summed up in the following question: “But, how does he manage to build that?” The first surprise is the structural

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   In 1958, at the age of 29, Paulo Mendes da Rocha won the national competition for the construction of the Paulistano Athletic Club Gymnasium, a work that merited, three years later, a major prize in the 6th International Biennial of São Paulo. The st

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   With the purpose of moderating the marked contrasts between construction on the coast and construction in the center of Brazil, the city of Goiânia was planned in 1937 as an administration headquarters for Goiás State. The project for this sports cen

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Located in a central street of São Paulo, the Guaimbê Building hides amid the neighboring blocks, setting back its main facade ten meters with regards to the road. Only the entrance to the building stretches out to the sidewalk, protecting the transi

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Built with in situ concrete but initially designed to be prefabricated, the twin houses for Mendes da Rocha and his sister stand one next to the other on a descending hillside in the residential district of Butantã, in São Paulo. The structure of the

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Japan   El mismo año en que la dictadura militar le retiró los derechos civiles para ejercer como arquitecto en su propio país, Paulo Mendes da Rocha ganó el concurso para construir el pabellón que representaría a Brasil en la Expo de Osaka de 1970. Con un f

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   The house designed for the engineer Mário Masetti goes up as an abstract prism on a precipitous site in Pacaembú valley, in the city of São Paulo. Four recessed cylindrical pillars support two wall beams that transmit the roof loads. The thickness of

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Carved into a small sloping site, beneath the highest point of the plot, the Millán House is organized around a series of skylights that illuminate the different rooms. Access is through the only front that is not buried, through a large void framed

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   The Jardim Calux Kindergarten is located in the municipality of São Bernardo do Campo, within the metropolitan area of São Paulo. It is built in the center of an 8,700 square meter sloping plot. Two longitudinal wall beams and a central axis of pilla

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Instead of the usual concept of the football field as an enclosed volume, the Serra Dourada Municipal Stadium is devised as a foyer that opens up to the city, embracing the activities that can take place around sports events. With capacity for 50,000

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Elevada sobre ocho pilares cilíndricos, la casa King evita alterar el paisaje que la rodea, reduciendo al mínimo los movimientos de tierra necesarios para su construcción. ?La parcela, de 2.500 metros cuadrados, cuenta con una exuberante vegetación c

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   The peculiarity of the house designed for the prestigious lawyer Antônio Junqueira is that it had to address, aside from the usual residential program, the specific requirement of including a library for a collection of more than 10,000 books. Up hig

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Rising on one of the hills in São Paulo, the Jaraguá Building directs its main facades towards the city’s two main axes, the Tietê and Pinheiros valleys. So that the communal spaces of each apartment can enjoy the views from these opposite facades, M

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Under a large concrete beam, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture unfolds along a sequence of partially buried platforms that guide visitors from the exterior to the interior without interruption. Located in a residential district in which the urban cod

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   In the town of Campos do Jordão, the Chapel of Saint Peter sits by Boa Vista Palace, the former winter residence of the São Paulo State Government, which currently functions as a museum. Reinterpreting the adjoining position of the historic chapels,

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Devised as an abstract prism, the store reflects the spirit of Forma, retailer of some the best pieces manufactured by international design brands The items displayed needed to have a maximum visibility, not only for those walking by but also for pas

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   The prefabrication strategy studied by Mendes da Rocha in 1964 for his own home was applied, thirty years later, in the house for the engineer Antônio Gerassi. Located in a residential quarter of São Paulo, the spatial concept of the house as an inha

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Built in 1922 after the demolition of an old urban block, the square honoring José Bonifacio, Patriarch of Brazilian Independence, is located in a strategic site of São Paulo. Eight urban thoroughfares meet in this transition space, which is also con

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Built in 1887 according to a design by Ramos de Azevedo, the neoclassical building of the old São Paulo Arts and Crafts Lyceum had never been entirely completed. The project to accommodate the State Art Museum, one of the most important collections i

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Drafted by Rino Levi just shortly before he passed away, the headquarters for the São Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP) consisted of a plinth of communal uses at mid-height with regards to the street, and which was no longer functional twenty ye

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   Used daily by approximately 120,000 people, the Parque Dom Pedro II Bus Station is located parallel to the Avenida do Estado in the São Paulo Cathedral district. Three rows of platforms with stops on either side organize bus traffic, with two accesse

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Brazil   On a vast esplanade facing the Vitória canal, the Cais das Artes (Quay of Arts) establishes a dialogue with its environment, characterized by the confrontation between the nature of the bay and the industrial condition of the port. With the size of a

Paulo Mendes da Rocha   Portugal   Located in the neighborhood of Belém, in Lisbon, the New National Coach Museum is part of an initiative to promote cultural tourism in this area of the city, with a great historical value tied to its role in the age of the discoveries. Elevated on a