Image created using original image © <a href='http://ift.tt/2az40AN user over_kind_man</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2a7gdBj BY 2.0</a>

Rio de Janeiro is a city of sights and sounds. As diverse as its people is the collection of impressive architecture found in Brazil’s second most populous city—from Eurocentric historical architecture to 20th century regionalist modern marvels, not to mention the city’s growing crop of contemporary cultural venues. The combination of mountainous terrain, lush rainforest, and the ocean inspires many to create lively and unique architecture.

In preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the city has enlisted a crop of internationally renowned architects including Santiago Calatrava, whose work joins Rio’s existing masterpieces from architects such as Oscar Niemeyer. But apart from its “Capital A” Architecture, the city of Rio is home to thousands of residents living in the now-famous favelas—interesting subjects of inquiry for those interested in the concept of spontaneous urban growth. There’s a building for just about every architecture fan visiting Rio this year or anytime in the future.

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International Architects

Museum of Tomorrow / Santiago Calatrava

Museum of Tomorrow. Image © Bernard Lessa

Built in Calatrava’s signature style, the recently launched museum feels ethereal and features various cutting-edge experimental exhibitions; it is an icon of the modernization of Rio de Janeiro’s harbor.   

Cidade das Artes / Christian Portzamparc

Cidade das Artes. Image © Nelson Kon

Located in the city’s developing southwest zone, Portzamparc’s masterpiece is a large cultural complex. A miniature City of Arts, it serves as a venue to multiple performances and exhibits throughout the year, as well as the home of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.

MIS Copacabana / Diller + Scofidio

MIS Copacabana. Image © Marcelo Horn / GOVERJ

Set to open later in 2016, the new headquarters of the Museum of Image and Sound aims to represent Rio de Janeiro’s Carioca culture through lively and stimulating exhibits. The building’s design aims to reproduce the experience of Copacabana’s famous boardwalk.   

20th Century Modernism

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum—MAC / Oscar Niemeyer

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6bre user gameoflight</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3T8j BY-NC-SA 2.0</a>

The iconic saucer-shaped structure not only frames views of Rio de Janeiro but also provides a column-free exhibition space for contemporary art.

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian / Edgar Fonceca

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA5ZrV user vincentraal</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3P8J BY-SA 2.0</a>

Also dubbed as the New Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, the conically-shaped structure is Edgar Fonceca’s interpretation of Mayan architecture which he has combined with traditional Catholic architecture through the dominant presence of stained glass in the interior.

Ministry of Education and Health Building / Lucio Costa 

Ministry of Health and Education Building. ImageImage public domain via Wikimedia

Known alternatively as Palacio Gustavo Capanema, this office tower is one of Brazil’s most iconic representation of the International Style. The building’s design credits read like a who’s who of Brazilian Modernism, designed by Costa with help from a team of young architects which included Oscar Niemeyer alongside Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Carlos Leão, Jorge Moreira, and Ernani Vasconcellos. This team was assisted by none other than Le Corbusier, while the building’s impressive roof top gardens were designed by Roberto Burle Max.

Museo De Arte Moderna / Affonzo Eduardo Reidy

Museu de Arte Moderna. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2az69fG user Halley Pacheco de Oliveira</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6y58 BY-SA 3.0</a>

Affonzo Reidy’s design is one of the most beautiful examples of Modernism’s sculptural potential. The museum is located within Rio’s largest public space: Flamengo Park.

Parque Eduardo Guinle / Lucio Costa

Parque Eduardo Guinle. Image © Nelson Kon

In 1943, Lucio Costa transformed the site of Parque Eduardo Guinle by building 6 residential towers. This is a prime example of Modernist architecture’s utopian aspirations in Brazil.   

Historic Architecture

The Royal Portugese Cabinet of Reading / Rafael da Silva e Castra

Royal Portugese Cabinet of Reading. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2az42sp user gameoflight</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3T8j BY-NC-SA 2.0</a>

Appearing like a cathedral filled with books, the 19th century building houses books which began as a private collection by three Portuguese immigrants. The library now contains largest collection of Portuguese works outside of Portugal.  

Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater / Francisco de Oliveira Passos

Rio Municipal Theater. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6yBX user gameoflight</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3T8j BY-NC-SA 2.0</a>

The Theatro Municipal is one of the most important and beautiful theaters in Brazil. The Paris Opera look-a-like is located in Rio’s city center and houses ballet performances and classical music concerts.  

Parque Lage / Mario Vodrel

Parque Lage. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2az31AP user Jonas Santin</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA5Q7V BY-NC 2.0</a>

Once the private home of industrialist Enrique Lague, the site is now a public park with walking trails through subtropical forest. In 2015, the artists Penny Duo transformed the site by placing an inflatable orange tarp that covered the building’s entire pool area.

Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro

Old Cathedral of Rio. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA63rr user Halley Pacheco de Oliveira</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3KSe BY-SA 4.0</a>

Before it was replaced by the New Cathedral of Rio in 1976, the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo was the seat of the Archdiocese of San Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro. It features stunning Rococo-style ornamentation.

Vernacular Architecture

Santa Marta Favela

Santa Marta. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6tya user alobos Life</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az4bMy BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>

The Santa Marta Favela is located in the Botafogo district of Rio de Janeiro and is home to some 8000 residents. In 2011, the Praça Cantão square of the favela underwent a colorful transformation through the Favela Painting Foundation of artist duo Haas and Hahn.

Teleferico do Complexo do Alemão / Jorge Mario Juaregui

Teleferico do Complexo do Alemão. ImageImage © <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6fHu user pacgov</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2az3T8j BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>

This cable car ride is composed of 7 stations and is taken by everyday commuters as it connects to the city’s railway network; the 45 minute ride provides a view of Rio de Janeiro’s various residential areas.

Contemporary Architecture

Rio Art Museum (MAR) / Bernardes + Jacobson Arquitetura

Rio Art Museum. Image © Leonardo Finotti

The MAR is a large complex which contains not only a museum but also a school and leisurely cultural spaces. The 2013 construction of the museum required the unification and re-purposing of three pre-existing buildings: the Palacete Dom João, the police building and the old central bus station of Rio as one cohesive complex.

Uruguai Station / JBMC Architects

Uruguai Station. Image © Nelson Kon

This station used to be an old parking area for trains known as “Rabicho da Tijuca” before it was renovated to become part of the metro’s Line 1 extension. JBMC Architects were also responsible for the Cidade Nova Metro Station and Footbridge.

Homeless World Cup Legacy Center / Lompreta Nolte Arquitetos + Architecture For Humanity + Nanda Eskes Arquitetura

Homeless World Cup Legacy Center. Image Courtesy of Architecture for Humanity

After the 2010 Homeless World Cup, the structure from this multi-team collaboration, which also included Nike and Bola par Frente, has been re-purposed as a community and cultural center using football and play as a tool for empowerment in the underprivileged neighborhood of Santa Cruz.  

Capela Joá / Bernardes Arquitetura

Capela Joá. Image © Tuca Reines

This contemporary chapel literally hangs off a cliff and is a reconceptualization of church architecture; the traditional gable form of religious Christian buildings has been inverted from sectional to plan view.

Maracanã Stadium / Schlaich Bergermann und Partner

Maracanã Stadium. Image © Schlaich Bergermann und partner

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics are being held in this stadium, which adds to the long list of prestigious sporting events that the Maracanã stadium has hosted since its construction in 1950. A beautiful new roof structure was designed by schlaich bergermann und partner in 2013.

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Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

• Architects: Sigurd Larsen
• Location: Diamond Point, NY 12845, United States
• General Contractor: Darrow Mansfield
• Area: 140.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

The idea of working with repeated motifs of a barn gable is inspired by the American painters Charles Sheeler and Andrew Wyeth. Sculptural monoliths of barns are oriented according to the sloping landscapes giving interesting compositions where many volumes in various directions can be seen as a layered additive structure.

Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

The house is located in an ensemble of vernacular saddle roofed barns gradually extended and added over the last 200 years. The new extension of the main house continues building on an unplanned system of diversely oriented volumes on a sloping meadow.

Plan

It contains a large open sleeping space overlooking a clearing in the forest, a bathroom as well as a connecting room used for storage of books from floor to ceiling. The lower level accessed from the outside contains a working space with bath and a utility room.

Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

Each element of the new extension – the building itself, the connector, the deck and the ramp – is given an individual orientation following the existing logic of the old surrounding buildings. Every window is carefully positioned to frame a specific view of the landscape or the surrounding old barns. This way all buildings old and new are directed by the sloping landscape, views and sunlight.

Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

The cedar wood facade is sealed in a local traditional manner by burning the wood until the surface turns black. The result is a lively texture that changes color during the day from a deep monochrome black to a silver grey reflecting the sunlight.

Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen

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Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

JR is an anonymous artist who owns the biggest art gallery in the world. His exhibits are available on the streets, free of charge catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. His work is thought provoking and mixes art and act.

JR is known worldwide for projects such as Portrait of a Generation (2006), Women Are Heroes (2008), and Face 2 Face (2007). The latter is a piece which through portraits of people made with a wide angle lens, printed in large scale and pasted on city walls was able to generate a reaction from the public.

JR has recently been working on two high-impact pieces in Rio de Janeiro’s landscape.

The first is an installation on the Casa Amarela (a cultural institution founded by the artist himself nine years ago) where JR created a metal sculpture in the shape of a crescent moon. The second is a large image of Sudanese athlete Mohamed Younes Idirss, who specializes in high jump, jumping over a building. 

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

The latter was performed using a new technique developed by JR in which a metal scaffold structure supports a printed fabric with the image in question. The technique had been tested previously in Rio de Janeiro showing a human figure in a position of “flight” with its arms open when viewed from the back.

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

In addition to these works, also in Rio de Janeiro is one of JR’s photographic booths from his Inside Out Project. This piece allows the public to take pictures of themselves in the same style and format as JR’s emblematic works.

Image © JR, via JR's Facebook

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Courtesy of Architexts

Getting new work is critical to an architecture firm’s success. Unfortunately, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get new work with fees that are commensurate with the amount of time that the job would require, especially if you are in a small firm. To start, our clients don’t often value the services we provide, and we don’t help the situation by constantly lowering fees just to get the work. Sure, we can play the game of limiting the services provided, giving a long list of exclusions (with the hope of getting Additional Services later), and doing less drawing… we all do it. Not surprisingly, the product suffers, and this gives the client even more reason to devalue architectural services. Yes, we need the work, and we do what it takes—but to what end?

Is your office sending out proposals with low fees just to get the job? Tell us about it for our new book project, Architects, LOL.

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© Thomas Mayer

• Architects: Piet Hein Eek , Amvest
• Location: The Netherlands
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Thomas Mayer

© Thomas Mayer

From the architect. The RAG building is the first building to be realised by architectural firm Eek and Dekkers. The project fits seamlessly with the way Piet Hein Eek has been working for decades. Instead of worrying only about the design, Eek focuses on the entire process from idea to commissioning. Eek and Dekkers have found common ground in this approach. It is this command of the whole process, from concept to completion, that secures the result. This working method is characterised by simplicity, whereby existing elements are treated with respect and used as a starting point for new creations.

© Thomas Mayer

In its previous life the RAG building functioned as a pumping station, supplying the surrounding factories with compressed air and vacuum, among other things. The industrial buildings around the RAG have now made way for new build homes, so that the building has gradually become the centre of a residential area. The RAG itself has also been allocated residential status. The roof construction with riveted rafters, concrete coffering (‘bims’ plates) and large industrial steel windows give the building a unique character.

Ground Floor Plan

The concept for the development of the building was itself embedded within the building. A low-rise construction was realised across the full length of the façade on the south side of the RAG building in the sixties. The roof of this low rise formed a perfect roof terrace for the adjoining living rooms and kitchens. It was obvious that the living rooms should be situated under these beautiful roof structures. 

© Thomas Mayer

As the building is so large, the plan with a terrace on the roof of the adjoining construction was a virtually perfect solution for the section adjacent to the facade. But what to do with the other section? After a, in retrospect, remarkably long period of deliberation and careful consideration, we found the solution. We decided to take out one section of the grid from the heart of the building, sacrifice two windows on either side and to remove the ‘bims’ plates. We thus created an open internal street in which the roof terraces could once again be realised to the south. The sun rises and sets beautifully over the building, parallel to the new inner street. With this intervention we were able to solve everything at once. The windows, doors and existing elements could again be 100% put to use. In the new inner street, we not only made the roof terraces but also all the necessary doors and windows. Wherever the upper floors meet the original steel windows in the outer façade, we devised a detail that allows the 30 centimetre-thick concrete package to correspond exactly with the original horizontal window frames. We respect and use the existing details and incorporate the rest in newly built  elements.

Scheme

The inner street has a private-public character and is the property of the residents. They all live together under one roof, but there is no problem with privacy as the properties are south-facing. The living room wall of the neighbouring home is visible from the roof terraces of the properties in the inner street, with above it glass right up to the apex of the roof. The new window frames and facades of the inner street are all made of wood. Although we initially envisioned typical steel windows and doors, as were originally used in the building, budget cuts ultimately forced us to search for alternatives. The wooden window frames turned out to be a great improvement. Instead of imitating the old and building upon it, the numerous large glass surfaces are clearly distinguished from the existing elements. It emphasises the design and the additions – new is new and old is old.   

© Thomas Mayer

The building stands upon an enormous basement that is half underground. This cellar was originally used to house supply and drainage pipes, maintenance and was also the foundation for the machines. As all existing windows and doors were based on this height, we reinstated the original level after completely demolishing the cellar. The living spaces on the ground floor are thus a metre above ground level and have a view of the surroundings, yet are not overlooked. The cellars are low, yet very serviceable as bicycle cellars and storage spaces. A ramp on the east side of the building provides access to the cellars adjacent to the central section under the inner street. The construction of the floor is as thin as possible and includes a large atrium with stairs. The atrium also provides two apartments on the ground floor with their own balconies.

© Thomas Mayer

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