The work of Joseph Gire and the urban landscape of Rio de Janeiro: Between the modernisation of the metropolis and contemporary preservation

• Grant number: 23/16335-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: Manoela Rossinetti Rufinoni
• Grantee: Laís Silva Amorim
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Much of the architecture produced in the city of Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 20th century has been studied based on its particular aesthetics associated with European artistic references, in dialogue with the sociocultural and economic characteristics found on Brazilian soil. In the propagation of this narrative, the training of several architects working in Brazil during this period in schools of French academic origin stands out. The French architect Joseph Gire (1872-1933) was one of these professionals. Gire designed buildings that contributed significantly to the transformation of Rio's urban landscape, in the context of efforts to modernize Brazilian cities. Therefore, this research project intends to analyze Gire's architectural production in Rio, inserting it into the urban and sociocultural context of the period, based on the process of historiographical recognition of his work carried out through the study of its patrimonialization, specifically, the listing processes for the buildings "A Noite" (1929) and Hotel Copacabana Palace (1923). Based on this study, we intend to discuss the specificities of Rio's architectural production located between the 1920s and 1930s, analyze the paths of recognition of these assets by preservation bodies and the reverberations of these narratives in the contemporary reading of this production.Along this path, we will seek to highlight the constant exchanges between Brazil and France, the savoir-faire associated with the works in focus and the contributions to the formation of Rio's urban landscape over time.