Paulo Mendes da Rocha, pioneer of Brazilian architecture, dies at 92
Paulo Mendes da Rocha, one of the most acclaimed architects in Brazil and around the world, has passed away at 92. The pioneer of “Brazilian Brutalism” died in São Paulo on Sunday May 23rd, following a battle with lung cancer. National Coach Museum, 2015. Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Aménio Teixeira. Courtesy of Paulo Mendes da RochaBorn in 1928, Mendes da Rocha’s career began at the age of 29 when he won a competition to design the gymnasium of the Paulistano Athletics Club. Following the Paulistano Athletics Club, Mendes da Rocha designed many notable projects including the renovation of the Pincoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, and the Patriarch Plaza redevelopment project with its iconic portico. He is considered one of the exponents of the “Paulista School”, a group of modernist architects formed in the 1950s that embraced exposed concrete surfaces, rough finishes, and heavy, brutalist massing. Paulistano Athletic Club Gymnasium, São PauloHis cont...
Paulo Mendes da Rocha, one of the most acclaimed architects in Brazil and around the world, has passed away at 92. The pioneer of “Brazilian Brutalism” died in São Paulo on Sunday May 23rd, following a battle with lung cancer.
Born in 1928, Mendes da Rocha’s career began at the age of 29 when he won a competition to design the gymnasium of the Paulistano Athletics Club. Following the Paulistano Athletics Club, Mendes da Rocha designed many notable projects including the renovation of the Pincoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, and the Patriarch Plaza redevelopment project with its iconic portico. He is considered one of the exponents of the “Paulista School”, a group of modernist architects formed in the 1950s that embraced exposed concrete surfaces, rough finishes, and heavy, brutalist massing.
His cont...
