Modernizada ou moderna? A Arquitetura em São Paulo nas décadas de 30 e 40

Abstract

The present paper intends to contribute to the discussion of the limits and meaning of the modern movement in Brazil, through the presentation of examples of the architecture commonly practised in São Paulo in the decades of 1930 and 1940 - the years of the definite establishment of modern architecture among us, according to most of the available bibliography about the history of Brazilian architecture in the 20th century. Although such examples eventually show similarities with modernism - and are even so denominated by their own authors - they are far from being fully modern, as we will attempt to demonstrate. In fact, extensive research carried out in the architecture magazine Acrópole for the development of our PhD thesis showed the ambiguity and lack of precision in the use of the term "modern architecture” frequently employed in reference to projects published therein. Another attitude that to have been rather usual at the time is the equivalence of modern architecture to any of the styles then available - which clearly denotes the absence of commitment to modern movement ideals on the part of the majority of São Paulo architects in the referred years