Interfaces from Rio

Irmãos Roberto and the housing architecture’s urban dimension

Abstract

Recognizably important within the Brazilian modern framework, the architectural production of the Irmãos Roberto finds in its urban dimension some of the main aspects that make it unique and that guarantee both its historical role and its value as a design experience. We will analyze a set of five residential buildings designed by the Irmãos Roberto in Rio de Janeiro – MMM Roberto, 1943-45; Júlio Barros Barreto, 1947-50; Dona Fátima and Finúsia, 1951-54; Sambaíba, 1953; and Angel Ramirez, 1954 – based on the relationships established between space, structure, and enclosure. Starting from the housing cell as an essential element in the articulation of architecture with the city, we will investigate how the elements of structure and closure are combined to establish distinct ways of relating interior and exterior spaces, differentiating private and public spheres, defining boundaries and transitions between these domains, and thereby helping to understand what kind of city these architectures have potential to generate. The valorization of transitional spaces and building boundaries puts the possibilities of articulation between building and city in the center of attention. We will seek, therefore, to understand these works from the interfaces that they establish with the city of Rio de Janeiro and that guarantee their singular urban dimension.