Between professional disputes and artistic elections: South American dialogues From the Brazilian Institute of Architects (1945-1969)

• Grant number: 15/00808-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: August 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: José Tavares Correia de Lira
• Grantee: Paula Gorenstein Dedecca
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research proposes the study of the interchanges established by the Brazilian Institute of Architects with other South American professional associations, between 1945 and 1969, adopting its institutional archives and publications as primary materials. Our hypothesis is that, during this period, in Brazil and other South American countries national contexts, the conflicts for the architect's professional redefinition and the practice programmatic elections, including the approach to the ideas of modern architecture, are associated movements and that it could be read as "strategies" of a local parcel of professionals in the dispute for distinction in the field of architectural production that was redefining itself in those years. It is thought that the Brazilian Institute of Architects - as well as other institutions of professional agremiation that were either reoriented or created at this time, already aligned with such modern ideas - was elected by certain groups as an important space for sociability, organization and positioning in the conflict that then was established around the definition of the new limits of the profession. Furthermore, we assume that some of those professional agremiations have adopted similar modes of positioning in this dispute, approaching themselves in their arguments and establishing several communication ties that, in its turn, enable from the discussion of common topics to the election of similar guidelines, reverberating, however, in specific ways in each context. Among other objectives, this research intends to advance on two axes still rarely addressed by the historiography of modern Latin American architecture. On one hand, it seeks to contribute to the understanding of the professional architectural environment of the first half of the 20th century, attempting to trace the relations between the professional battles and the cultural activities and to deepen the understanding of the professional association role in the development of modern architecture - their institutional histories, their internal conflicts and their place in the architectural field such as sociability and dialogue knots. On other hand, the research has as perspective the transnational comprehension of modern architecture history in South America, that seeks possible material ties and conexions, similarities and differences between contexts. It aims to establish a historical overview of architectural movements that don't remain limited to the national borders or to the dialogues established with European or North American centers, but that also tries to illuminate the professional exchanges made with the neighboring countries. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

DEDECCA, Paula Gorenstein. Architecture and social engagement: the Institute of Architects of Brazil, the professional debate and its transnational arenas (1920-1970). 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU/SBI) São Paulo.