The Gustavo Capanema Palace will officially serve as one of the venues for the 27th World Congress of Architects – UIA 2020 Rio. The authorization agreement for the building's use was signed on Thursday, September 20, during an event marking the completion of the restoration work on the building's facades. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture; the president of Iphan, Kátia Bogéa; the president of the IAB, Nivaldo de Andrade; the UIA Vice President for the Americas, Roberto Simon; the president of UIA2020RIO, Sérgio Magalhães; as well as the presidents of CAU/BR and CAU/RJ, Luciano Guimarães and Jeferson Salazar, respectively.
One of the most important works of modern architecture in the world, the Gustavo Capanema Palace is also a landmark in the establishment of the Carioca school of modern architecture by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, featuring consulting by Le Corbusier, landscaping by Burle Marx, and contributions from several fine artists of the caliber of Portinari. In total, R$ 42 million was invested in the restoration of the building's facades. The funds came from the PAC Historical Cities program and Iphan itself.
“Having the Gustavo Capanema Palace restored in 2020, hosting a series of activities linked to UIA2020RIO, is fundamental. Architects from all over the world will be able to see this newly restored masterpiece, and at the same time, it will be a legacy that the Brazilian government, the IAB, and architects and urban planners will leave for Rio's society,” said the president of the IAB, Nivaldo de Andrade.
A masterpiece of modern architecture built in Brazil, the Gustavo Capanema Palace is expected to be one of the main attractions for the approximately 15,000 congress delegates arriving in Rio in 2020. “The building is recognized not only here in Brazil as a national historic heritage site, but also internationally as one of the great examples of modern architecture,” noted the president of CAU/BR, Luciano Guimarães.
Restoration of the Gustavo Capanema Palace
The complete restoration of the Capanema Palace's facades is one phase of a series of works that have been underway at the site since 2014. This restores the integrity of one of the main features of a building that is a symbol of global modernism. Work included restoring the stone cladding of the pilotis; waterproofing the roof garden and the roof of the auditorium block; modernizing the elevators; replacing premium window frames and floor/wall coverings on certain levels and the pilotis ceiling; as well as the complete restoration of the facades. Yesterday, Iphan published the public tender notice for the second phase of the work in the Official Gazette, with funding of approximately R$ 80 million. The contract covers the restoration, conservation, and modernization of the building's entire interior, including all infrastructure, fire detection and suppression systems, air conditioning, modernization of the auditoriums, conservation of the ground-floor gardens, and the restoration of all wooden furniture and Portinari's tile panels.
Known as the MEC building, the palace was Brazil's first public building to feature the key characteristics of modern architecture, such as pilotis, an open floor plan, a roof garden, a free facade, and ribbon windows. Led by Lucio Costa, the architectural design team included Oscar Niemeyer, Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Carlos Leão, Ernany de Vasconcelos, and Jorge Machado Moreira, with Le Corbusier as a consultant, alongside major figures from the arts and landscaping, such as Burle Marx, Cândido Portinari, Bruno Giorgi, Adriana Janacópulus, Celso Antônio, and Jacques Lipchitz.
Via CAU/BR.
This article was written by CAU/BR. The translation is powered by AI.
