The law school of São Francisco Place and its new building

• Grant number: 15/16337-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2016
• End date: June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: Maria Lucia Bressan Pinheiro
• Grantee: Bruna Caroline Teixeira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The current research project intends to investigate the circumstances involving the replacement of the old building of the former Franciscan Convent - first venue of the Law Academy when it was founded, in 1827 - for the neo-colonial building where the Law School of the University of São Paulo, successor of the old academy, is today located. Part of one of the most significant urban complexes of São Paulo, the old convent - initially located in the urban boundaries of the city, according to the mendicants church orders' characteristic implantation - was object of countless interventions that culminated in its complete demolition in the mid-1930s, just as the first institutional initiatives related to the preservation of historic buildings were taking place. The project intends to investigate its history as an emblematic case that transcends and connects multiple dimensions of Brazilian culture. The research is part of the activities of the "Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa NAP-SP: Plataforma São Paulo - Cidade, Espaço, Memória" (Research Group : São Paulo Platform - City, Space, Memory), supported by the Research Incentive Program of the USP Rectory, which aims to contribute to the knowledge of the numerous spatial transformations that have taken place in São Francisco Place over the years. (AU)