Info︎
Scenes of Domesticity
Spring 2020, Columbia GSAPPCollaborator: Maru Pérez
Critic: Luis E. Carranza
A Comparative Architectural Analysis of Edificio Copan and Casa das Canoas.
Oscar Niemeyer was a Brazilian modernist architect who lived between 1907 and 2012. His style is usually described as sculptural and includes abstract curved forms. Niemeyer is primarily known for designing civic buildings like the U.N. headquarters in New York, and for planning Brasilia; however, his residential work provides a subject for comprehensive study.
Niemeyer is characterized for his left-wing political ideology, having been a member of the Brazilian Communist Party. His political views were always explicit; however his architecture did not always reflect these views. His work did not defend the modern idea of rational and industrial form, and was often designed in a bourgeois character.
We chose to analyze the lifestyle of residents in the respective buildings through the medium of film. Copan 60 Horas by Cristina Aragão is a documentary created for the GloboNewsNetwork in 2017. The director and screenwriter rented an apartment in Block B of the Copan building with her team for 60 hours. While there, she documented the lives of the residents, emphasizing diversity and how the architecture interferes with their lives. Canoas is a 16mm film by Tamar Guimarães created in 2010. The film narrates the preparation leading to a cocktail party at Casa das Canoas. A contemporary glamorous party scene echoes conversations from 1950s Brazil.
Bibliography:
Andreas, Paul, et al. Oscar Niemeyer: Eine Legende Der Moderne: a Legend of Modernism.
Deutsches Architekturmuseum, 2013.
Aragão, Cristina, director. Copan 60 Horas. GloboNews, 2017.
Darlington, Shasta. “In São Paulo, Iconic Building Helps Revive a Blighted Downtown.” 1 Oct. 2017.
Guimarães, Tamar, director. Canoas. Tamar Guimarães, 2011.
Hess, Alan. Oscar Niemeyer Buildings. Rizzoli, 2009.
Hess, Alan. Oscar Niemeyer Houses. Rizzoli, 2006.
Lemos, Carlos Alberto Cerqueira. A Historia Do Edificio Copan. Imprensa Oficial, 2014.
Niemeyer, Oscar. Minha Arquitetura, 1937-2005. 3a ed., Editora Revan, 2005.
© Alek Tomich_ New York, NY