IMS Rio receives new building designed by Bernardes Arquitetura

With the aim of expanding and qualifying its facilities to better receive the public, the Moreira Salles Institute will carry out a renovation at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, which will take place on two fronts: the restoration of the modernist house and the construction of a new building to replace the building that currently houses a gallery and part of the collection reserves . During the works, which are expected to last around four years, the cultural center will remain closed to the public. Renovation work will begin in April of this year. It is possible to visit IMS Rio until March 26, the closing date of the exhibition by photographer Miguel Rio Branco , currently on display at the cultural center. The restaurant at the headquarters, Empório Jardim, will also be open. usually until the 26th.

History of IMS Rio

Designed by architect Olavo Redig de Campos in 1948 and opened in 1951 as the residence of the Moreira Salles family, the house that is the headquarters of IMS Rio is located at the top of Gávea, on a plot of approximately 10 thousand m², in the middle of the forest. da Tijuca. In 1999, it underwent adaptations to become a cultural center. Both the house and its gardens, designed by landscaper Roberto Burle Marx , are listed as a Municipal Historic Heritage Site in Rio de Janeiro.

The building that currently houses part of the technical reserves of the collections and an exhibition room will be demolished to make way for a new building, designed with accessibility and sustainability parameters in mind. The new building will have two exhibition rooms, each measuring approximately 300 m². , an auditorium for cinema sessions and events, with around 120 seats and a state-of-the-art acoustic system, a new space for a restaurant and areas for storing and processing collections. The project is signed by the Bernardes Arquitetura office. Architect Francisco Abreu, managing partner of the office, comments on the work: “The project foresees a total requalification of the Gávea headquarters, creating a new gallery of international standard while rescuing the project original building. The new building will serve as a hub for the complex, housing the galleries, auditorium, restaurant, collection, and also serving as the main public access point. In this way, the house will become part of the visitation as a permanent collection of the history of the IMS”, he says. During the period in which IMS Rio will be closed for construction, the institution intends to ensure its presence in the city with cultural programming. To this end, it maintains agreements with Rio institutions in order to establish partnerships and hold exhibitions and events. Among the partnerships already established are those with the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro , which presents until March the retrospective Walter Firmo: no verbo do silêncio a síntese do grito , shown in 2022 at the IMS Paulista, and the Museu de Arte do Rio - MAR , which, from June onwards, will host the exhibition Carolina Maria de Jesus: a Brazil for Brazilians , also previously shown at the São Paulo headquarters. While the works are underway, the collections and administration of IMS Rio will be located on Rua do Russel, in the Glória neighborhood, where the teams that care for the collections will continue to work and serve only researchers who wish to consult documents and images. The expectation is that service, currently suspended for the transfer of reservations, will return in the second quarter of 2023.