January 28, 2020

New York, NY, January 28, 2020 – The Center for Architecture, in collaboration with the Architekturmuseum der TUM, is pleased to present Access for All: São Paulo’s Architectural Infrastructures, opening on Tuesday, February 11 at 6:00 pm. The exhibition, curated by Daniel Talesnik, features 13 projects located in the Brazilian megacity that create inclusive places for urban society.

For decades São Paulo has seen investments in architecture that help alleviate the lack of public space in the city. Many of these projects also provide São Paulo’s 12 million inhabitants with access to recreational, cultural, and athletic programs, much-needed in this dense metropolis of tremendous inequality, high crime rates, congested traffic, and severe public health issues. Access for All presents a selection of these projects, built from the 1950s to the present, organized in three categories: large-scale, multi-programmatic projects; open public spaces; and projects located along the city’s iconic Paulista Avenue.

The projects, from Lina Bo Bardi’s SESC Pompéia to Andrade Morettin’s Instituto Moreira Salles, weave in and out of the city, blurring the boundaries between buildings and the public realm of the street through the use of internal alleys, ramps, stairs, and elevated or sunken plazas. With a focus on how architecture can serve residents, Access for All highlights how these projects are used today, rather than their formal characteristics. Regardless of when they were constructed, the projects are analyzed as they stand, through newly commissioned photographs, films, architectural drawings, illustrations, models, and interviews, as well as archival documents.

“What makes São Paulo so different, so appealing?,” asked exhibition curator Daniel Talesnik. “The city’s allure can be explained, in part, by the case studies in this exhibition—especially when they are understood as a network that supports life in the city, making urban intensity more bearable, favoring encounters between people, and empowering citizens.”

While many cities around the world are still chasing the Bilbao effect, Access for All advocates for architecture that serves diverse cultural, social, and recreational functions, all aimed at sustaining the needs of São Paulo’s residents.

“The megacity of Sao Paulo creates a surplus value for its inhabitants with these projects, which offer necessary compensation for the extreme urban conditions of spatial and social density,” said Architekturmuseum director Andres Lepik. “At the same time, they are representative of the character of the city at large.”

The exhibition will be on view through May 23, 2020.

Curator: Daniel Talesnik
Curatorial Assistants: Marcello Della Giustina, João Bittar Fiammenghi, and Pia Nürnberger
Exhibition Architecture: Mariana Vilela
Photography: Ciro Miguel
Original Illustrations: Danilo Zamboni
Original Architectural Drawings: Guilherme Pianca, Gabriel Sepe, and team
Graphic Design: Kathryn Gillmore
Videos: Pedro Kok

RELATED PROGRAMMING
Members of the press are invited related programming.

Opening and Lecture
Tuesday, February 11, 6-8 pm
With Daniel Talesnik, Curator, Access for All: São Paulo’s Architectural Infrastructures; and Andres Lepik, Director, Architekturmuseum der TUM

This exhibition is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

About the Center for Architecture
The Center for Architecture is the premier cultural venue for architecture and the built environment in New York City, informed by the complexity of the City’s urban fabric and in dialogue with the global community. The Center shares a home with the AIA New York Chapter and has the unique advantage of drawing upon the ideas and experiences of practicing architects to produce thought-provoking exhibitions, informative public programs, and quality design education experiences for K-12 students. It also leads New York City’s annual month-long architecture and design festival, Archtober. The Center for Architecture’s aim is to further public knowledge about New York City architecture and architects, foster exchange and collaboration among members of the design, development, building, scholarly, and policy sectors, and inspire new ideas about the role of design in communities by presenting contemporary and practical issues in architecture and urbanism to a general audience. www.centerforarchitecture.org