Architect's Day: 15 professionals who marked the history of Brazil

The National Architect's Day, celebrated on December 15, marks an opportunity to revisit the trajectories that helped build the architectural identity of Brazil. Over the decades, different professionals contributed to transforming cities, enhancing public spaces, experimenting with new languages, and establishing dialogues between technique, culture, and territory. Thinking about this, we highlight below 15 Brazilian architects who left lasting impacts on how the country thinks about and produces architecture. From the consolidation of modernism to contemporary practices, including urbanism, landscape architecture, and interior design, these architects have expanded the professional repertoire and helped to define references that continue to guide debates, projects, and ways of living even today.

Oscar Niemeyer

A central figure in world modern architecture, Oscar Niemeyer is the architect whose unique language redefined the identity of the country. His designs, always sensory and sculptural, transformed Brasília into an urban landmark and consolidated his poetic vision of space. Among emblematic works are the Cathedral of Brasília, the National Congress, and the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Lina Bo Bardi

Lina Bo Bardi was an architect recognized for her appreciation of the social use of spaces and for the integration of popular culture, technique, and architecture. Among her main projects are the MASP, whose free span redefines the relationship between building and city, and Sesc Pompeia, an example of industrial requalification focused on collective coexistence. Her production influenced generations by proposing accessible, functional architecture that is deeply connected to everyday life.

Lúcio Costa

Responsible for the urban plan of Brasília, Lúcio Costa viewed the city as a living organism, always in dialogue with landscape, mobility, and daily life. His rational but sensitive lines are evident in the urbanism of the Pilot Plan and in essential reflections on modern Brazilian architecture. As an architect, he left an intellectual body of work that continues to guide debates about heritage and planning.

Vilanova Artigas

(Itaú Cultural/Divulgação)

Founder of the so-called Escola Paulista, Vilanova Artigas left works of strong social character and structural expression. The FAU-USP, one of his most emblematic projects, synthesizes his vision of architecture as a democratic and continuous space. As an architect and professor, he influenced generations with critical thinking and a commitment to the collective approach.

Ruy Ohtake

Ruy Ohtake. (Galeria da Arquitetura/Divulgação)

Ruy Ohtake stood out for his mastery of geometric forms and for the expressive use of color. The architect left remarkable works in the São Paulo landscape, such as the Hotel Unique and the buildings in Heliópolis, which integrate architecture and social impact. His signature is recognized for the combination of technical rigor and visual boldness that engages with the urban landscape.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Paulo Mendes da Rocha is internationally recognized for his technical precision and formal courage. His unique use of concrete reveals an architecture of great structural and social integrity. Among his best-known works are the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MuBE) and the renovation of the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, both examples of how the architect united monumentality and delicacy in his designs.

Tebas

Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, better known as Tebas, was an enslaved black architect who left his mark on historical buildings in São Paulo, such as the old Cathedral of Sé. His skill in working with stone revealed technical excellence in an adverse context, and his delayed recognition reinforces the need to broaden perspectives on Brazilian heritage. Today, his figure symbolizes resistance, creativity, and black ancestry in architecture.[Arinda da Cruz Sobral]

Arinda da Cruz Sobral is recognized as the first licensed architect in Brazil, graduating in 1917 from the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro. In a predominantly male context, her presence marks a pioneering moment in the entry of women into the profession in the country. Although there are few detailed records of her professional activities, her training represents a symbolic and historical milestone for Brazilian architecture, paving the way for later generations of female architects and consolidating women's presence in the fields of architecture and urbanism.

Burle Marx

Burle Marx. (Instituto Burle Marx/Divulgação)

Roberto Burle Marx was a landscape architect responsible for introducing a modern approach to Brazilian landscape architecture, integrating botany, visual arts, and urban design. His work valued native species and reorganized the relationship between vegetation and built space. Among his best-known projects are the Aterro do Flamengo and the Copacabana sidewalk, both in Rio de Janeiro, references in the structure of public projects and in the consolidation of landscape architecture as a fundamental discipline in Brazilian architecture.

Rosa Kliass

A pioneer of modern landscaping in Brazil, Rosa Grena Kliass played a decisive role in qualifying public spaces. The Juventude Park in São Paulo is one of her landmarks, transforming an old penitentiary into a place of coexistence and memory. In addition, she gained prominence for the landscaping of Avenida Paulista and Vale do Anhangabaú.

Mayumi Souza Lima

Mayumi Souza Lima dedicated herself to studying the relationship between architecture and education, proposing school spaces centered on children's experiences. The architect researched ergonomics, scale, and community participation, contributing to public policies and pedagogical guidelines. Her legacy articulates research, practice, and social impact.

João Filgueiras Lima – Lelê

Lelê was an inventive architect, responsible for industrialized construction systems that renewed Brazilian public architecture. His work with the Sarah Kubitschek Network resulted in hospitals recognized for their integration of technique, environmental comfort, and construction efficiency. Lelê treated the project as a process, always attentive to social solutions and productive rationality.

Janete Costa

Janete Costa stood out for integrating popular art and design into interior architecture. Her work is recognized for valuing Brazilian handicrafts and for the harmonious fusion between contemporary works and traditional elements. In addition to hundreds of residential and commercial projects, the architect was responsible for the curation of exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Niterói (MAC), at the Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo, among others.

Isay Weinfeld

Isay Weinfeld. (Blog MPD/Divulgação)

Isay Weinfeld combines architecture, design, and cinema in a language of great visual refinement. The architect is known for projects that explore rhythm, proportion, and sensory experiences, such as the properties of the Fasano Group, Havaianas stores, and the 360° Building in São Paulo. His work engages with subtlety, emotion, and discretion, favoring straight lines and enveloping atmospheres.

Márcio Kogan

With a minimalist aesthetic and high construction precision, Márcio Kogan translates a contemporary Brazilian architecture that balances shadow, light, and materiality. At the forefront of Studio MK27, the architect designed internationally awarded residences and institutions, always with attention to human scale and artisanal gesture. His work is known for its silent elegance and the fluid relationship between interior and exterior.