At 28 years old,
João Gabriel is considered one of the most influential names of the new generation of Brazilian architecture. The professional is present at
CASACOR Bahia 2025 with the "Ateliê de Tebas," a space that
broadens the view on black architecture in Brazil by paying homage to the first black architect in the country:
Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, known as Tebas.
João Gabriel - Ateliê de Tebas. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2025. (Bia Nauiack/CASACOR)
The project functions as a creative workshop, where the mix of antique pieces with contemporary objects and furniture values time as a master. Instead of hiding marks, tiles, wood, and original walls of the Casa Nossa Senhora das Mercês (location of the event in 2025) were preserved. João Gabriel - Ateliê de Tebas. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2025. (Bia Nauiack/CASACOR)
"First, we defined the color palette, then the materials. I really wanted to work with straw, dark wood, and stripes. These are materials that make up what I was looking for in the project while also translating my work – which is more affective, a house that looks like a home. In this sense, the feeling that guided all the choices was nostalgia. I needed people to enter and feel like they were in the past," he explains in an interview with CASACOR. After all, who was Tebas?
Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, better known as Tebas, was a talented architect, specialized in stone facades during the 18th century. Enslaved until the age of 58, he left his mark in São Paulo after gaining his freedom – having worked on emblematic works such as the restoration of the Monastery of São Bento (1766) and the former Cathedral of Sé (1778). Despite his remarkable projects, Tebas was recognized by the Union of Architects in the State of São Paulo (Sasp) only two hundred years later, in 2018. Quadro "Cabeça de Negro", de Candido Portinari (1934), muitas vezes associada à imagem de Tebas (Divulgação/Divulgação)
For João Gabriel, the idea of honoring the first black architect in the country came long before his second participation at CASACOR Bahia: “During architecture school, we don’t have black references. So, I sought my own.The fact that Tebas was a black man who was enslaved until the age of 58 and, even within that context, managed to stand out with his work makes me understand that we have been progressing for a long time. What was lacking was the search, the recognition of this memory,” he adds. Multicultural references
Not only at CASACOR Bahia 2025 but also in his other projects, João Gabriel strives to gather references from diverse cultures. For this, the architect questions Eurocentrism, creating space for the influence of Latin, African, Asian, among others.“When I started to understand my architectural style, I sought to balance my political activism side with the practical side that meets the clients’ needs.” Projeto de João Gabriel. (Leo Silva/Divulgação)
João Gabriel details: “I found color references in Latin cultures, especially the color blockings and the color portals of Mexico. From Africa, I brought some geometric patterns, the use of textures and organic shapes. There is a term called afrofuturism, which imagines technology in an organic way – what I have been trying to bring in some way. I also draw inspiration from the horizontal nature of Eastern cultures, with lower beds and seating in interiors.” João Gabriel - O Canto de Gil. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2024. (Gabriela Daltro/CASACOR)
Representativity and inclusion
Beyond aesthetics, the purpose of João Gabriel's work translates into a greater goal: opening space for other black professionals in the architecture market. This is manifested in the tribute to Tebas, in the installation of a mural with photos of various black colleagues at CASACOR Bahia 2025 and, mainly, in the creation of his own mentoring program for the qualification of black architects – the Sala Preta. João Gabriel em apresentação da mentoria Sala Preta. (Instagram/@asalapreta/Divulgação)
It is a powerful network with 25 recent graduates from across the country, soon to become 50 in the coming months. João Gabriel proposes to pass on his key knowledge, from project structuring, client acquisition, pricing, and branding – to psychological support. Grupo de alunos da mentoria Sala Preta na CASACOR Bahia 2024 (Instagram/@asalapreta/Divulgação)
“I am the son of market vendors, and therefore, many things have been denied to me throughout my life — especially knowledge. So, what I seek with my work is to be the ancestor I never had and ensure that others could have what I did not. Being at CASACOR for the second year is the result of that. It is proof that I may have made it happen,” he concludes. 
