The Council for the Defense of the Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Tourism Heritage of São Paulo (Condefat) has approved a project by the Ricardo Nunes Department (MDB) to renovate Viaduto do Chá, the areas surrounding the Municipal Theater and Praça do Patriarca, in the center of the capital São Paulo.
However, the authority expressed reservations about one of the project’s most controversial ideas: the idea of closing the entrance to Galeria Prestes Maia with glass, surrounding a marquee designed by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, on Praça do Patriarca.
“The current proposal to close the roof of the Prestes Maia gallery visually interferes with the enjoyment of the Santo Antônio Church, the bridge itself and the listed assets in its surroundings,” says Opinion Condephaat, responsible for the preservation of the state heritage.
The Santo Antônio Church has been listed by the Council, as have the Viaduto do Chá and the Matarazzo Building, immediately adjacent.
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The project to close the entrance to the Galeria Prestes Maia with glass has received criticism from the architects and the family of Paulo Mendes da Rocha. The group claims that the action, if implemented, will disfigure the marquee made by one of the country’s most famous architects. On the other hand, the city council sees the fence as a way to preserve the area.
When evaluating the business application for the Viaduto do Chá area, Condephaat issued the city council for renovations, but proposed another intervention option in the case of the marquee.
“As an alternative, we propose to adopt a horizontal retractable closure over the existing fence, for example. In this way, there will be no new visual obstructions and access will be reopened when necessary,” it reads.
For Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s son, also architect Pedro Mendes da Rocha, Condivat’s proposal seems like a more interesting solution to the issue, given the city council’s concerns about closing access to the gallery at night.
“This is a proposal that is at least inconsistent with the safety of the work,” says the architect, highlighting that a retractable closure would also need to be “carefully planned.” “The more public, open and negotiable the space is,” Paolo says, the better.
More reservations from Condephaat
Condephaat also expressed reservations about other aspects of the planned renovation of Viaduto do Chá. These range from technical issues, such as a request for information about the bridge floor, to specifying that the Department submit a new proposal for the GCM base to be installed after the works. According to the document, the base should have “more discreet coverage and colors, as it will be directly in front of the listed assets.”
In a note to CapitalsThe Heritage Conservation Authority said that reservations must be taken into account in the project. “Works can begin, including enabling part of the required analytics in the reservations. As for the closing of the marquee, the project must be reviewed and approved by Condephaat before its installation begins,” says the text sent to the report.
The City Council wants to take advantage of the need to renovate Viaduto do Chá, which currently suffers from infiltration problems, to create a unique offer with interventions also on the sidewalks surrounding the Municipal Theater and Praça do Patriarca. The idea also provides for easier use of Galeria Prestes Maia, the space that connects Praça do Patriarca to Vale do Anhangabaú and remains unused most of the time.
2 photos
Conditional closure.
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Viadoto do cha
Guilherme Cunha/SMTUR2 of 2 Disclosure
Municipal theatre
While preparing the project for the area, the Nunes administration considered moving the Paulo Mendes da Rocha marquee to another part of the city, but eventually gave up after resistance from the architect’s family.
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