paulo mendes da rocha discusses building 'human habitats'

in september 2016, it was announced that brazilian architect paulo mendes da rocha would receive RIBA’s 2017 royal gold medal. widely credited for transforming his home city of são paulo, mendes da rocha is recognized for a great number of important cultural buildings built in his particular brutalist style. the award — the UK’s highest honor for architecture — follows paulo mendes da rocha’s acceptance of the mies van der rohe prize in 2000, the pritzker prize in 2006, the venice biennale’s golden lion for lifetime achievement in 2016, and the praemium imperiale international arts award in the same year.

designboom attended the royal gold medal lecture at RIBA’s london headquarters, where the architect discussed some of his most important projects, and the underlying theme of building human habitats in nature.

patriarch plaza, são paulo (2002)
image © nelson kon, courtesy of RIBA / portrait of paulo mendes da rocha © designboom

‘nature is hell,’ said mendes da rocha opening his lecture, ‘it is equivalent to an inferno’. although the rhetoric is strong, the brazilian architect correctly asserts that humans could not survive without some form of architectural infrastructure. ‘scenarios where humans can live in nature is the greatest discussion for architects’, he continued. from scorching deserts to the arctic tundra, in its most natural state the world is truly inhospitable for the human race. growing up in post-colonial brazil, mendes da rocha has spent a lifetime building beautiful habitats fit for human occupation.

casa no butantã, são paulo (1964)
image © annette spiro, courtesy of RIBA

observing that ‘architecture cannot encompass all humanitarian disciples’, mendes da rocha said that rather than having an infinite knowledge base, architects can bring these important issues to light through their work. brazil’s most celebrated living architect began by presenting examples of his city-scale masterplans, in both his home town and further afield in uruguay. ‘the english contributed to the building of brazil and our culture,’ said mendes da rocha, explaining that it was british ships that originally brought the portugese to brazil.

the brazilian sculpture museum in são paulo (1988)
image © nelson kon, courtesy of RIBA

completed in 1988, the brazilian sculpture museum in são paulo is one of the architect’s most recognized works. however, the building is so unobtrusive you may not notice it at first glance. as its architect explains, the concept behind the design was to ‘not have a building at all’. sitting low on the landscape, a long linear form not only hosts a diverse collection of sculpture, but also preserves a vital area of public green space for the city. the underground nature of the design is subtle, barely registering on its surroundings.

the brazilian sculpture museum in são paulo (1988)
image © nelson kon, courtesy of RIBA

more recently, in 2015, mendes da rocha completed lisbon’s new national coach museum. however, the architect took some convincing to undertake such a large project outside his home city. ‘when approached for this project, I said that I will only do it if we have a collaboration with a local partner, as the museum is a very popular tourist and local attraction,’ he explained to the audience. describing it as a fantastic opportunity to design around beautiful objects, the architect used simple white interior surfaces as a neutral backdrop to the coaches on display. ‘the museum has no doors and relates to all of its surroundings,’ he continues — a bona fide habitat for humans.

the national coach museum in lisbon (2015)
image © armenio teixeira, courtesy of RIBA

‘after so many years of work, it is a great joy to receive this recognition from the royal institute of british architects for the contribution my lifetime of work and experiments have given to the progress of architecture and society,’ said mendes da rocha. ‘I would like to send my warmest wishes to all those who share my passion, in particular british architects, and share this moment with all the architects and engineers that have collaborated on my projects.’

the royal gold medal was established by the royal institute of british architects in 1848 and is still awarded annually. the honor is granted for a body of work, rather than for one particular project, with previous winners including le corbusier in 1953, frank gehry in 2000, toyo ito in 2006, and peter zumthor in 2013. last year, the prize was presented to zaha hadid, who was first female architect to receive the award in her own right. see designboom’s coverage of paulo mendes da rocha’s work here, including an in-depth interview with the architect.

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paulo mendes da rocha discusses the building of human habitats in nature

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