Brazil Studio

2008-06-25T22:33:00.013-04:00

RECAP PT. 5: BH, ACABA MUNDO, & BRASILIA

We returned to Belo Horizonte with the Canadians in tow to spend a week workshopping on modes of addressing runoff and structural damage resulting from water penetration. On our first night back at PUC, after an evening lecture from Fernando on issues of permeability and storm management, we met our student hosts. My host, Marcelo, was really wonderful. His family lives a bit outside the city in a neighborhood called Nossa Fazenda (“Our Farm”), and over the course of my stay we had a lot of great conversations during the commute in his bright yellow VW Gol (which can run on either gasoline or a sugar cane derived fuel.)

Halfway through the week we were taken on a tour of Acaba Mundo, the favela which would be the site for our final proposals. The tour was lead by members of the community and city workers who are active there. The houses are densely packed and crawl up a steep incline, nestled between two streams which originate from springs in the hillside. A portion of the residences had recently been taken down as they were erected on sediment that is prone to mudslides during the rainy season. It was a tremendous opportunity to be invited there, and we constantly drew on that afternoon during the design process.

After a presentation of our collaborative work at the end of the week, we headed to the capital city of Brasilia. The city plan was designed in the 1950s by Lucio Costa, and it was mostly completed in just a few years. It is dominated by a symmetrical axis which runs from a giant broadcasting tower at one end to a lake at the other. Niemeyer’s iconic forms are everywhere, and the walk from one end to the other is marked by a procession of increasingly abstract structural expression.

2008-06-22T13:11:00.016-04:00

RECAP PT. 4: OURO PRETO & MARIANA

We left Belo Horizonte a few days after arriving, taking a bus for about 100 km to the outlying city of Ouro Preto. We stopped at a roadside cafe about halfway there that was festooned with folksy decorations and featured a small zoo in the back. These places are apparently common on the outskirts of BH, letting people know in an amusement park fashion that they are headed for the country.

Ouro Preto is located in a mountain range and has steep, twisting streets paved with hand cut bricks. It was the site of a major gold rush in the 18th century and was apparently the largest city in the Americas during this era, surpassing Boston and other commercial hubs further north. Despite its relatively small size, the city has 13 opulent churches whose construction was funded by the elite of the mining community. Most churches feature elaborate sculpted interiors and gold inlay, with the notable exception of the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosario, which was established by slaves and features interior decorations carved from wood and stone and decorated with local paints and dyes.

Ouro Preto was also the site of the Inconfidencia Mineira in 1789, a failed colonial independence movement which resulted in the hanging of one conspirator. This figure, known as Tiradentes, eventually became a major folk hero in Brazil, and there is a monument to him both in the central square of Ouro Preto, as well as at the end of the central axis in the capital of Brasilia.

We hiked up and down the streets, met our Canadian counterparts from Ryerson University, had a much needed Portuguese lesson, and made an excursion by steam powered train to the nearby city of Mariana, where we watched a seemingly endless procession of marching bands clog the streets. Highlights include a pinup in the ground floor of Niemeyer's Hotel Grande, a piano recital in the oldest continually operating opera house in the Americas, a tour of a local gold mine, and dancing samba with some local students in a convenience store.

2008-06-21T21:25:00.015-04:00

RECAP PT. 3: BELO HORIZONTE & PAMPULHA

We flew out of Sao Paulo after only a few days and headed for the city of Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, a site which would serve as our base of operations for the duration of our studio. We spent our first day in a lakeside suburb just outside the city called Pampulha. It was designed in the 1940s by Brazil's patron saint of architecture, Oscar Niemeyer (who is still alive and practicing at 100 years of age). The project was commissioned by then-mayor Juscelino Kubitschek, who would later become president and oversee Niemeyer's work in the new capital of Brasilia in the late '50s.

The architecture was great, but the experience was overshadowed, I believe, by the sighting of a capybara resting beside the lake immediately outside the art museum. Thida informed me that, despite being the world's largest rodent (up to 140 lbs.), they are relatively easy prey for one who becomes stranded in the Amazon or an anonymous lakeside suburb. I believe her.

Afterward we returned to Belo Horizonte and saw the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais (known as "PUC", pronounced "pooky"), the University were we would be doing our studio work. Tom attempted to order a cheeseburger and got this, which we later determined might be a type of panqueca:

2008-06-21T17:56:00.023-04:00

RECAP PT. 2: SAO PAULO

We all flew through the night into Sao Paulo for our first day in Brazil. There was a thick blanket of fog in the morning as we landed, which gave everything a bit of a surreal quality. Seeing it lap against the base of the mountains around the airport, I really had no idea how close to the ground we were until we broke through and landed seconds later.

As we arrived downtown, the air cleared and we made our way through the hills of the city. Someone later remarked that parts felt like San Francisco--the topography is really quite dynamic, with steep inclines everywhere and pockets of unfamiliar vegetation breaking through the pavement. The city sits at a high altitude relative to its surroundings, and many of the highrises downtown have steel broadcasting antennae on their roofs which seem to be taller than the buildings on which they rest.

For the next few days, we would wander the city. The time went by in a satisfyingly slow pace despite all that we did. We got our first taste of the concrete gymnastics that Brazilian architects have occupied themselves with since Modernism's first landing in the mid 20th century, including Lina Bo Bardi's Sao Paulo Art Museum, Paulo Mendes da Rocha's Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and the gridded open-air monstrosity (monstrous in a good way) of the local University's Architecture building. We also saw several older structures, like the Neo Gothic Catedral da Se and many other Baroque and colonial era facades nestled into the more contemporary fabric of the city. Tried a few staples for the first time as well, including suco (fresh juice) and pao de queijo (cheese bread). Our first forays into Portuguese were greeted with polite amusement. The remaining hours were spent on the roof of our hotel, which featured a pool and an amazing view of downtown.

-Brian

a

Stateside, Recapping.

2008-06-21T17:29:00.005-04:00

After a day of traveling, I've made it back to Ann Arbor. I miss Brazil. In going through my files, I see that I've taken an inappropriately large number of pictures and I managed to never post a single one to the blog. To remedy this I thought I'd go back and reflect a bit, and post as many photos as the blog allows.

RECAP PT. 1: ANN ARBOR, CHICAGO

After the collective abuse of final reviews, those of us who didn't head home collected in Ann Arbor and spent our days meandering around they city. We found a Brazilian grocer in the south of town and tried some Presuntinhos (Ham Snacks). Yu Chen best captured our collective reaction, but we found them again once we were in Brazil and they became a popular diversion during our hours in studio, along with Cebolitos and Baconzitos.

A few of us ran afoul of the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago when applying for our visas, and I was among several that had to make a last minute unscheduled trip to their office to straighten things out. The US and Brazil have apparently had sour diplomatic relations in terms of travel since September 11th, when we imposed higher fees and stricter security measures on all Brazilians attempting to visit the US. It all worked out in the end, however, and I got a chance to see a few old friends in the process.

-Brian

work, a lot of work

2008-06-16T12:28:00.006-04:00

somebody looking at the previous posts would think that we have been sightseeing only.

we actually did work, and this morning we presented it all to the city with the presence of the mayor Fernando Pimentel.

here's a small sample of our project.

we are off to Salvador tomorrow morning and officially done working.

Eckkkkkkkkk!

2008-06-16T07:20:00.006-04:00

This past sunday my host family and I visited one of the mines outside of Belo Horizonte. I was amazed by its beauty and tranquility. There is no more mining here but the mining company is in the process of developing it as a tourist destination. Just to the right of the picture below is a park overlooking Belo and two favelas. Life exist in the lake so I suggest not to swim. I hate crocs. - tom

Riiooo

2008-06-09T13:29:00.006-04:00

New developments in "thumbs-up" debate

2008-06-02T19:56:00.009-04:00

At the end of class on Monday, we had one of the Brazilian students "Gui" show us the art of a thumbs-up... which we see people doing everywhere in Brazil! The trick is to keep the thumb tucked close to the fingers and positioned as a Roman Emperor would give a thumbs up to let a gladiator live. Just another cultural adjustment!

-Courtney

the world is upside down

2008-06-02T17:11:00.002-04:00

just a bit of serious talk in the middle of all that blogging:

if anybody asks you why Brazil, check out Roger Cohen on today's New York Time here.

More street food lessons

2008-06-02T16:37:00.003-04:00

Here we are experimenting with street coconuts bought from a vendor. Brian seems unsure but everyone else jumped right in

Black Gold (yes, Ouro Preto)

2008-06-02T16:23:00.007-04:00

We love our public bus systems here in Brazil. This picture is going back to Ouro from Mariana

Brooke and Cristina learn the street foods of downtown Ouro at night; here you can see "street corn" bought from a vendor. Mmmmm.

The Michigan students trying to fit in and look rough in order to scare away any locals that posed a threat. Scary ey? (the term "Ey" comes from our new Canadian friends, it means something along the lines of "right" we think)

the "classroom"

2008-06-02T15:51:00.008-04:00

The views from our classroom; day and night respectively. It's hard to work in a setting as beautiful as Belo Horizonte.

GROSSBURGERRRR!!!

2008-06-02T15:45:00.006-04:00

At the infamous Grossburger in Belo: Gui's and Cristina's "before" shot. If you eat 2 of these massive heart attacks, you can win some major cash. Cristina is in the running . . .

Yu chen after the Grossburger; he didn't feel so great

Brazilian Bikinis

2008-06-02T14:53:00.004-04:00

The Brazilian students were so kind to take us bikini shopping. The Michigan girls were so shy Clarice had to put on a swimsuit to show us how it is suppose to be...we kept asking for the larger sizes and the Brazilian students with us were telling us they needed to be smaller.

Nick is ready for Rio!

Brasilia

2008-06-01T14:48:00.000-04:00

Tom and Victoria at the President´s house.

Brian walking the halls at the Brasilia Architecture school.

The Brasilia Architecture school. Check out that bed....I guess one thing stays the same internationally between architecture schools.

Brasilia at night.

reality check

2008-05-28T19:45:00.001-04:00

the morning was busy today. Hosted by the city staff from URBEL and the community leaders, we walked for more than one hour inside the Acaba-Mundo neighborhood, a typical Brazilian favela. The lessons were many, from the ingenuity of the spatial solutions to the inverted design process in which the materiality always comes before the spatiality.

We all liked the playground, but Fernando seemed to be most interested in the slide.

later we also visited a school and day-care built by the city, hosted by the architects Marcelo Amorin and Silvana.

Grocery Shopping with the Host Family

2008-05-28T14:26:00.000-04:00

Grocery shopping was quite an experience. I have never seen so many different kinds of bananas. Ana my host mom, with a huge abacate (avacado)...and I thought everything was bigger in Texas.

Workshop at PUC-Minas

2008-05-27T09:38:00.004-04:00

the travel franzy is over (for a few days) and we started working yesterday on a brainstorming workshop session that includes 13 students and 2 faculty form Ryerson University in Toronto and another 20 students from PUC-Minas in Belo.

and I guess it feels good to go back to the drawing board after so much traveling

posted by F.Lara

Mariana

2008-05-26T14:19:00.003-04:00

We took a steam engine train to Mariana from Ouro Preto and then took the bus back to visit the Gold Mine

walking in Ouro Preto

2008-05-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

coming down the hill

lunch in Ouro Preto, view from our table

Brooke and Cristina after eating at a Kilo Resturaunt. Kilo Resturaunts are just amazing. You walk in to a large spread of fresh fruits and vegetables and every cut of meat on skewers that you can imagine. You load your plate up and pay by the kilo.

Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto

2008-05-23T10:35:00.004-04:00

here's what happen when you introduce 12 nice Michigan students to 12 nice Mineiro's students.

on Wednesday there would be a party hosted by an architecture student in Betim, 40km away from our hotel in Belo. Given that proper directions were lost on translation, the Mineiro students drove 40km, picked up a few Michiganders and drove 40km again after the party to drop them off. That's 120km total or about 20km per capita.

the carbon footprint was not that good but the party..... well, I wasn't there, but I saw their faces the next morning.

on the photo, some of them walking around Ouro Preto yesterday.

posted by F. Lara

Michigan students meet Brazilian students

2008-05-22T23:41:00.021-04:00

The night before heading out to Ouro Preto, a group of Michigan students decided to join some of the students from PUC-Minas in a BBQ (a "Churrasco"). The night turned into so much more... including an intense debate about male speedos, a bonfire, and a karate fest which turned into a cart-wheel contest.

-Courtney

2008-05-22T17:39:00.002-04:00

our first night in Belo Horizonte= we still dont know how to order food.

2008-05-22T17:37:00.000-04:00

brian gave us a little surprise during dinner....

Sao Paulo II

2008-05-20T21:27:00.000-04:00

in Sao Paulo on Monday, hours and hours on a bus

but the School of Architeture by Artigas was worth all the effort

São Paulo I

2008-05-18T21:44:00.008-04:00

everybody arrived ok in São Paulo (except one piece of luggage that is hopefully coming tonight) and we already walked for miles to see the MASP building by Lina Bo Bardi and the MUBE by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, where we took this picture.

more to follow soon,

blog created

2008-05-01T12:14:00.002-04:00

this blog was created to track the adventures of 12 Michigan students traveling to Brazil to take part in a architectural studio in Belo Horizonte, in partnership with the Catholic University of Minas Gerais and the City of Belo Horizonte.

the 12 of us + prof. Fernando Lara will be posting from May 18th til June 20th and beyond.

posted by F. Lara