Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro

The Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro was built in the early 1900's, as part of the Mayor's project to modernize Rio de Janeiro's downtown area, following French design principles. The theatre was designed by Brazilian Francisco de Oliveira Passos and French Albert Guilbert and it was inspired by the building "Palais Garnier" in Paris.

Penthouse addition by TAMABI Architecture

Two basic principles guided our project for the construction of a new penthouse floor to house a single 234-square-meter apartment, located at the base of the Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro’s forested Jardim Botânico neighborhood.

The first was a demand for an open space with the least possible amount of internal subdivisions, with the intent to provide good cross ventilation and establish continuity between the interior areas and the surrounding landscape, particularly the Atlantic Rainforest located right in front of the four-story building. Our solution was to group together personal and service areas (bedroom, bathrooms, laundry room) in one block that runs along the east façade, thus creating an open space for the rest of the apartment that connects the front terrace all the way to the back terrace. The open space accommodates the kitchen, dining room, living room, entrance stairs, and study.

Such layout gave the interior space a more longitudinal reading. As a counterpoint, a geometrical volume holding the building’s large water tank was inserted across the width of the ceiling. The added volume is visually emphasized by its lower ceiling height and different surface treatment. It is further detached through a skylight, which makes the entire continuity of the volume visible from the inside.

At the north end, which holds the living and dining rooms, a system of pivoting doors placed across the entire 8.80-meter width of the apartment allow for complete opening of the space, promoting direct contact with the Tijuca Forest and the remarkable statue of Christ the Redeemer at its mountaintop.

The second principle was to use renewable resources wherever possible. The building’s old asbestos roof was replaced with a green roof, which reduces both the thermal effect of the sun’s radiation into the apartment and its reflection back into the atmosphere. This solution, allied with the allowance of cross ventilation, eliminated the need for air conditioning in the penthouse apartment.

In addition to its heat and noise reduction benefits, the green roof can be accessed directly from inside the apartment and serves as a garden to be enjoyed by its residents, including the possibility to grow a vegetable garden and an area to create compost from organic waste. Solar panels were installed at the highest point of the building for water heating. A deactivated cistern in the building’s underground floor was repaired to store rainwater collected from the roof, which can be reused both for watering the plants and cleaning the external areas of the building.

The abundant natural lighting provided by the large window openings in all four façades was intensified by the addition of skylights. These skylights were designed with a system that permits constant air circulation and keeps the environment comfortable.

The ‘Magui Building’ was constructed in 1951, a time of urban occupation in the neighborhood and a period of great significance to the development of the Modern Movement in Rio de Janeiro’s urban architecture. It was during that same period and in those vicinities that great works were produced, including the Antônio Ceppas buildings (1952) by Jorge Machado Moreira and the Lagoa Hospital (former Sul América Hospital, 1952) by Oscar Niemeyer and Hélio Uchoa, with its landscape designed by Burle Marx.


*Written by TAMABI Architecture

JK Bridge

The JK Bridge is located in Brasilia, crossing Lake Paranoa. It was named after Juscelino Kubitschek, the Brazilian President who decided to build Brasilia as a new modern capital in the 50's.
The supporting structure is submerged under the lake. Three asymmetrical steels arches that cross over the bridge support the weight of the deck, that is suspended by steel cables attached to those arches. The length of the bridge is 1,200 meters, and is also accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The project team was architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mário Vila Verde. The JK Bridge has won many awards since its inauguration in 2002, and became one of Brasilia's favorite landmark.

Sculptures by Ascanio MMM

Ascanio MMM (Ascanio Maria Martins Monteiro) was born in Portugal in 1941, and became a Brazilian citizen in 1970. He is an architect by trade, who became a full time sculptor in 1976. His work is classified under neoconstructivism in Brazilian Contemporary Fine Arts.

His work can be seen at several public spaces, such as in front of highrise buildings and plazas in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Lisbon and Tokio. Some pieces are part of Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art's collection, and some others are part of private collections.

Using metal and wood, he plays with shapes, angles and volumes, creating unique geometrical forms, that resemble the ones studied in architecture school. He starts by creating a modular element that will be repeated as many times as needed to reach a different shaped form, horizontal or vertical, combining calculated curves with rigid straight lines.
Paralel to using modular forms created with raw materials used by industries, Ascanio also investigated the poetic possibilities produced by his final piece. One can notice the change in rhythm of these shapes depending on the light and shades formed.

Small weak pieces forming one large strong whole. It looks like to me he created a paralel to our human condition.

To see more of his work, visit his website: http://ascaniommm.com/

Marisa Monte - "Nao Va Embora"

Marisa Monte singing "Don't Go Away" from her CD "Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love". To learn more about this great Brazilian singer, visit her website: www.marisamonte.com.br

Copacabana Palace Hotel

The Copacabana Palace Hotel is located in front of the beach, in the Copacabana District, Rio de Janeiro. Construction started in 1919, and the building was inaugurated in 1923. The team was French architect Joseph Gire, and construction engineer César Melo e Cunha. The hotel was ordered by Brazilian President Epitacio Pessoa, who thought the capital of Brazil needed a luxurious hotel with a casino. The hotel became the only tall building in the area, surrounded only by small houses and mansions.

Later, the capital of Brazil was transfer to the City of Brasilia, and the hotel suffered a slow period of decadency, with its installations becoming obsolete. Its demolition was ordered, but it was prohibited by various public organizations, who classified the building as a protected historical and cultural estate. The old hotel was bought by Orient-Express Hotels and renovated to the latest building technologies.

Nowadays, the Copacabana Palace Hotel is one of the most luxurious hotels in Brazil, and it's destination for national and international celebrities who visit Rio de Janeiro. It's also a very well recognized city landmark by Rio de Janeiro's inhabitants.

To see more photos of this beautiful hotel, visit their website: http://www.copacabanapalace.com.br/

Rio-City Program

Rio-City (Rio-Cidade) was an urban renewal program in the City of Rio de Janeiro in 1995/1996; a master plan for reconstruction of public areas, and improvement of urban standards. The image of the city needed to be restored from urban chaos. The project involved many districts troughout the city, including some of the most prominent Avenues and Plazas.

One of the primarily goals was to rearrange pedestrian and vehicle flows. Different sections of the sidewalks were set aside for placement of urban furniture. Those areas received different paving from the areas left for people to walk.

Historical Portuguese stone paving were restored. New illumination were added to enhance architectural details on buildings and for safety.

Trees were added in many plazas providing pedestrians with a more pleasant place to walk and protect against the hot sun. Busy intersections were painted to warn drivers to slow down.

The Project was considered a success by Rio de Janeiro's citizens, and by public and private sectors.