What can emptiness do? For architect
Carlos M. Teixeira , it is a field of study, work and fascination that he has been focusing on for more than two decades. This sensitive look at the possibilities of the unbuilt gave rise to the book “
Under construction: history of the Void in Belo Horizonte ”, a publication in which he proposes a
new approach to cities , focusing not on buildings but on potential spaces, in order to imagine other ways in which people relate to the city, understanding public space as a field of social transformation.
Throughout the book, Carlos analyzes how the strength of the voids, foreseen in the original project of Belo Horizonte, was invaded by architectural constructions. The detours of disorderly growth
disfigured the capital and caused many of its residents today to be unaware that Belo Horizonte was planned. Originally released in 1999, the book brought a new approach to cities, the result of Carlos M. Teixeira's period of study at the Architectural Association, a progressive school in London.
(Carlos Teixeira/CASACOR)
In addition to analyzing these transformations and their consequent problems, Carlos also proposes solutions. In the final part of the book, the architect presents projects that would help
rethink the population's relationship with the city , making the common space more democratic and integrated with the surroundings and the nature. As the author explains, these are ideas that already made sense in 1999 and that, in 2022, are even more urgent. The book cover, for example, refers to a project to incorporate an iron mining area, which is located just behind Serra do Curral. By creating a park on the site, Carlos proposes
to rebalance the lack of public spaces, and emptiness, of the city .
About the author
Graduated in architecture from UFMG,
Carlos M. Teixeira has a master's degree in urban planning from the Architectural Association and is a PhD candidate at FAUP. He has published the books "Em obras: história do vazio em Belo Horizonte" (Cosac Naify, 1999), "O concurso absoluta" (C / Art, 2009), "Ode to the void" (Romano Guerra/Nhamerica, 2017) and is one of the organizers of "Collateral spaces" (Creative Cities, 2008). He has exhibited his works at the Palácio das Artes (Belo Horizonte), Viaduto das Artes (Belo Horizonte), Festival International des Jardins (France), UABB Bi City Biennale of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Galleria Campo (Rome), Venice Architecture Biennale, Victoria & Albert Museum (London), São Paulo Art Biennale Paulo and the São Paulo Architecture Biennial, among others. In 2002, he founded the architecture firm Vazio S/A.
