On November 14th the exhibition "Lina Bo Bardi 100 - Brazil's Alternative Path to Modernism" was opened at the Museum of Architecture at the Technical University of Munich, [Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München], in Munich, Germany. The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of this architect, whose figure was recovered late 90. The exhibition features original material unpublished until now. 'Lina Bo Bardi 100 - Brazil's Alternative Path to Modernism' is still the most important international review of the work that Lina Bo Bardi development throughout her life.

With her iconic architectural structures, furniture, exhibitions, and theories on architecture and design, Italian-born Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi created an outstanding body of work which has garnered increasing attention in recent years. Raised and educated in Italy, she played an important role in the development of modern architecture in Brazil. She evolved an approach to design that was unique to her and which placed the social significance of construction and its cultural roots at the heart of the architectural endeavour.  By striving to create an ‘architettura povera’, Lina Bo Bardi can be seen as a forerunner to today’s emergent socially driven ‘architecture engagée’. One of her most important achievements was her ability to create buildings that were widely popular among the local public and which defied conventional classification.

Lina Bo Bardi would have turned 100 on 5 December 2014. To mark the occasion, the Architekturmuseum der TU Munich presented the exhibition ‘LINA BO BARDI 100 – Brazil’s Alternative Path to Modernism’. The display casts the spotlight on the emergence and development of her architectural style. The exhibition opens with a section dedicated to Bo Bardi’s formative years in 1930s Italy, as well as her first activities as editor and designer of such journals as Domus, Lo styles, and A. Cultura della Vita. Examined next are her first buildings and projects in Brazil, presented against the backdrop of her growing interest in humanist, anthropological, and political themes in architecture. Taking centre stage in the display are her uniquely colourful, jovial sketches and designs. Tracing the full arch of her career, these drawings were her primary instruments for expressing her singular style of architectural conceptualization and planning. The exhibition will feature almost 100 original hand-drawings and other works from the Istituto Lina Bo e P.M. Bardi in São Paulo.

The exhibition documents the concrete implementation of her concepts in the final constructions in scores of historical photographs that depict her buildings as they appeared at the time of their creation. These images are juxtaposed by present-day shots that convey the current condition and use of the buildings. Recorded interviews with the architect’s friends and colleagues offer a broader perspective on Lina Bo Bardi’s personal life and working practices. And, in addition, a video screening explores her innovative exhibition concepts. The commemorative exhibition marking the centenary of Bo Bardi’s birth has been specially designed by the contemporary Brazilian architect Marina Correia.

The exhibition is accompanied by the release of a large catalogue that sheds new light on Lina Bo Bardi’s architectural achievements, examined from different angles. Featuring texts by Renato Anelli, Zeuler Lima, Cathrine Veikos, Sabine von Fischer, and Guilherme Wisnik, the catalogue will be available in two editions (English and German), published by Hatje Cantz.

Book.- Lina Bo Bardi 100. Brazil's Alternative Path to Modernism.
Texts by Renato Anelli, Vera Simone Bader, Anna Carboncini, Gabriella Cianciolo Cosentino, Sabine von Fischer, Steffen Lehmann, Andres Lepik, Zeuler R.M. de A. Lima, Olivia de Oliveira, Catherine Veikos, Guilherme Wisnik, graphic design by Verena Gerlach.
Language.- English.
Edition.- 2014. 368 pp., 350 ills. Hardcover.
Size.- 25.40 x 30.60 cm.
ISBN.- 978-3-7757-3853-8.

‘Lina Bo Bardi 100 -  Brazil’s Alternative Path to Modernism’ will be the most comprehensive critical evaluation of the internationally important architect to be held outside of Brazil in 2014, and will offer visitors a unique opportunity to view original sketches and designs.

When.- 14 November 2014 – 22 Februar 2015.
Where.- Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany.

Read more
Read less

More information

Achillina Bo (Born on December 5, 1914, in Rome, Italy and died, on 20 March 1992, in São Paulo, Brazil) was the oldest child of Enrico and Giovana Bo, who later had another daughter named Graziella. In 1939, she graduated from the Rome College of Architecture at the age of 25 with her final piece, "The Maternity and Infancy Care Centre". She then moved to Milan to begin working with architect Carlo Pagani in the Studio Bo e Pagani, No 12, Via Gesù. Bo Bardi collaborated (until 1943) with architect and designer Giò Ponti on the magazine Lo Stile – nella casa e nell’arredamento. In 1942, at the age of 28, she opened her own architectural studio on Via Gesù, but the lack of work during wartime soon led Bardi to take up illustration for newspapers and magazines such as Stile, Grazia, Belleza, Tempo, Vetrina and Illustrazione Italiana. Her office was destroyed by an aerial bombing in 1943. From 1944-5 Bardi was the Deputy Director of Domus magazine.

The event prompted her deeper involvement in the Italian Communist Party. In 1945, Domus commissioned Bo Bardi to travel around Italy with Carlo Pagani and photographer Federico Patellani to document and evaluate the situation of the destroyed country. Bo Bardi, Pagani and Bruno Zevi established the weekly magazine A – Attualità, Architettura, Abitazione, Arte in Milan (A Cultura della Vita).[4] She also collaborated on the daily newspaper Milano Sera, directed by Elio Vittorini. Bo Bardi took part in the First National Meeting for Reconstruction in Milan, alerting people to the indifference of public opinion on the subject, which for her covered both the physical and moral reconstruction of the country.

In 1946, Bo Bardi moved to Rome and married the art critic and journalist Pietro Maria Bardi.

In Brazil, Bo Bardi expanded his ideas, influenced by a recent and overflowing culture different from the European situation. Along with her husband, they decided to live in Rio de Janeiro, delighted with the nature of the city and its modernist buildings, like the current Gustavo Capanema Palace, known as the Ministry of Education and Culture, designed by Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Lucio Costa, Roberto Burle Marx and a group of young Brazilian architects. Pietro Bardi was commissioned by a museum from Sao Paulo city where they established their permanent residence.

There they began a collection of Brazilian popular art (its main influence) and his work took on the dimension of the dialogue between the modern and the Popular. Bo Bardi spoke of a space to be built by living people, an unfinished space that would be completed by the popular and everyday use.
Read more
Published on: November 27, 2014
Cite: "Lina Bo Bardi 100. Brazil’s Alternative Path to Modernism" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/lina-bo-bardi-100-brazils-alternative-path-modernism> ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...