Images of IAPI and Vila dos Comerciarios

The Instituto de Aposentadorias e Pensões dos Industriários (IAPI) was built in 1936 during the "Estado Novo", headed by Getulio Vargas with similar ideals as the "New Deal". There are IAPI's in several Brazilian cities, all built as "cidades jardins", much like garden cities in the United States such as Greenbelt, MD. The IAPI is now a neighborhood in Porto Alegre since it has been surrounded by development.

The most striking difference between IAPI and Greenbelt is the preservation of the place. Architects in Brazil are constantly enfuriated by the "discharacterization" of planned towns, they complain about the modifications to the buildings, the landscapes, and the building uses. On the other hand, the inhabiting of these places and gradual modifications and marks left by its residents adds an incredible amount of character and physical layers of history. My impression of IAPI is that even an iron-fist home-owner's association could not have prevented the incremental changes of the neighborhood.



An aerial photo of the IAPI

Mercado Publico in Porto Alegre

The Mercado Publico in Porto Alegre is one of the best known in Brazil, particularly for its revitalization in the 1980s. It is still considered the best place to purchase fish in the country and is the anchor to one of the busiest public squares in the city. Around it, overflow produce sellers have set up shop near the bus stops and paved plazas. The market is my favorite place in Porto Alegre, reminiscent of the city's origins as a port and trade post while incorporating the gaucho lifestyle and modern downtown atmosphere. It is colorful, alive, and infinitely rich in photographic potential.



A block from the market is a building that has been abandoned since it was under construction. It is over 15 stories tall and in the heart of downtown but was never completed so it has been taken over by squatters. They have installed windows, power, television antennas, clotheslines, stores, and all the spontaneous parts of most favelas inside the building's skeleton. Here are a few pictures:

Images of Bagé

A slideshow of my explorations in Bagé on Christmas day. It is the city in the Pampas that I am most familiar with and a short(ish) distance from the border sites I am researching.

Precedents #3

Bing Thom Architects
Central City, Surrey, BC
http://www.bingthomarchitects.com/




Frank Gehry
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London
http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2008/02/serpentine_gallery_pavilion_20_9.html
http://photodelusions.wordpress.com/category/out-and-about/london/serpentine-gallery/serpentine-pavilion-2008/

Precedents #1

Villa Eila - Heikkinen and Komonen (1993)
http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=4380
http://www.personal.psu.edu/cad5033/villa%20eila.htm



Estudio Teddy Cruz
http://www.world-architects.com/index.php?seite=ca_profile_architekten_detail_us&system_id=14396
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/arts/design/19hous.html