n evista internacional o Mendes da Rocha e arquitectura Obra reciente Sor]Recent work Ree Museum and theatre, Vite es ERSU Viale ia Playa unverity campus, Gagiar Se National Museum of Fino Art, Rio de Janeiro Fee ee ee Coe ee er ee et ee ee Ree ee Ree ee co ee Si0 Paulo, Séo Paulo ‘Master plan forthe campus of Vigo Unversity ey Interviews with Paulo Mendes da Rocka OeGUILHERME WISNIK Arquitectura del territorio Architecture of the territory “A finales de la década de 1970, Paulo Mendes da Rocha proyect6 una bellisima casa en la ciudad de Catanduva, Estado de Sito Paulo, y la dedied al escultor inglés Henry Moore, por quien siente un aprecio fespecial. A pesar de estar formada por la superposicin de tres blo- {gues distintos —un pabellén que contiene las distintas estancias, una piscina y una viga marquesina de cubierta—, la casa logra wna inte- racion espacial radical por el hecho de que en ella se ha eliminado ‘Gualquiier esto compositiva, como la jerarquia entre las fachadas o, incluso, la presencia de pilares, de tal forma que se presenia como tuna unidad hecha de vactos. Ni siquiera se percibe la memoria de un ‘olumen sélido sobre el que se le Tran vaciado puertas y yentanas y Suspendico sobre pilots sino que, por el contrario, muestra na pre- Sencia algo ins6lita de vohimenes integros que parecen emerger \mo dentro de otro, como en las “formas internas y externas” de Henry Moore. Ligeramente hundida en el terreno, la casa se define como ‘un yolumen lineal alargado, con una eubierta transitable que, al unir- se la piscina, se transforma en un solario agradablemente situado a Tzaltuma de las copas de los érboles del jardin que rodea la casa} una plataforma que, al encontrase parcialmente cubierta por un pértico fransversal, pasa a tener también os atributos de una terraza som: bia, muy agradable en el clima cilide de Gatandwa. Asi, en lugar de cencontrarse apartada en el fondo del jardin trasero, como suele suce- er en este fipo de programas, la piscina se convierte en un elemen- to central del proyecto, Aunque esti conformada bisicamente por palios ciegos, se trata de una casa innegablemente abierta, pues con ere nobleza a los intersticios existentes entre esas paredes: espacios ‘acios ereados para albergar usos no dispuestos de antemano. Tmagitamos la casa en un dia de fiesta, por ejemplo: la sala se abre por completo para crear una zona de estar cubierta, pero abierta, Attavesada a su vez por una pasarela alta por donde circula Ia gente a tuna altura inesperada, que termina en. tin muro ciego que enmarca ‘GULMERME WISH (So Pao, 1972 e9 wate ora Facua de ier y Ue ‘Sena (Fade Ussing ce Sho Paso ast en Hn Soil pox Fac Jo ‘cco tsesy Corel trance gsla rare unvrsdsd. Argue scl dl esti Met ‘sets, 2 courete cl ata Fa dp Sao Pas y avr da tivo Loco Costa Conse aly Ste Pu, 2007) puso trsen vrs atl ones en reve 18 tStnsee cane a acue Doomed to mode eo en Bras modem sent ‘Presson Lars 2000, Ac the end of the 1970s, Paulo Mendes da Rocha designed a beat fal house to be built in Catanduva, an inland city in Sao Pano State He dedicated it to the English sculptor Henry Moore, whom he admired a lot, Three distinct blocks—accommodation, a swimming pool and a portico—were superimposed, but the house achieves rad. ical spatial integration. AN compositional waste is eliminated, such as 1 hierarchy of facades or even the presence of columns. The house Appeats as a unit consisting of voids. There is not even a hint of an ‘original slid pierced by doors and windows and suspended on pilo- tis instead, rather unustaly, complete volumes seem to emerge, one imide another, like Henry Moore's “internal and external forms.” Slightly sunken into the site, the house appears to be a long linear body with a usable roof. In connection with the swimming pool, this roof becomes solarium, pleasantly atthe level of the tops of trees of the surrounding garden, This plateau is partly cavered by the trans: verse portico, 30 it takes on the character of a shady terrace, a very hice feature in a hot place such as Catanduva. So the swimming pool isnot in a garden separate from the house, as is normal in projects of this kind, It is a central clement of the project. Even though the hhouse basically consists of uninterrupted planes, itis clearly open; the interstices between these planes become noble—gaps created for tuses that were not established in advance. For example, imagine this house when there is a party—the lounge is completely open toa living space that is covered but not enclosed. A bridge crosses over it, on which people promenade at an unex pected height, and the space terminates in an opaque vertical plane ‘which shapes this internal landseape in a way. Itisa cinematic view of domestic life, in which day-to-day activities take on forms that are tunexpected and not eompartmentalised. It questions che normal pet~ ception of architecture asa closed fact. Construction, landscape an Scenery are in tune with each other; the house manages to be extro- “QUILHERME WishK (So Pal, 172 an see rane tne aca of Neher and iden Sema te Unerly or Sac Pal, wth a ast ogo p Sit st om the let Pricer Leters thd Human Semmens fhe same vert Forma a pare [isto Wein foe a ealmet of a Fafa ge. Pas resapes and aur Be bok Ut cove mane Nay, 0 Pau 200, Ho hao plenty aca and ey p= ‘cad mapucnes and took nealing "Dormes to ederim Eras Modan Anos (Pracon Lance, 30)