EDUARDO PIZARRO
architect . urban designer
I was born in Pirassununga, Brazil. I am an architect and urban designer, and I hold Master and
PhD degrees both granted by the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Sao
Paulo (FAUUSP), in Sao Paulo. Besides that, I developed research at the Architectural Association
Graduate School (AA), in London, and at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), in
Zurich.
Currently I am International Relations, Education and Training Advisor of the Sao Paulo Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU/SP); Brazilian Ambassador of the LafargeHolcim Awards; and Professor at the Sao Judas University, in Sao Paulo.
Here I highlight four fundamental theoretical/practical exercises evolved along my trajectory, at
different scales: beyond-sao-paulo; within-sao-paulo; for-sao-paulo; and far-beyond-sao-paulo.
beyond-sao-paulo refers to my undergraduate final project, which was supervised by Full Professor
Silvio Macedo (FAUUSP). It speculated an alternative design for the 2016 Olympic Games’
Athletes Village, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The design project intended the construction of an
effective urban legacy based on the investigation of the existing city. It was recognized with the
2012 Young Scientist Award, granted by President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, on behalf of National
Council for Scientific and Technological Development.
within-sao-paulo was initially planned as a master research supervised by Associate Professor
Joana Gonçalves (FAUUSP). The main focus was given to the investigation of environmental,
urban and social conflicts and potentialities inherent to spaces in-between buildings in the
second largest in São Paulo, the so-called Paraisópolis Favela. The dissertation lead to a series
of strategies designed to improve the environmental conditions within informal settlements.
Now I will describe the way that research evolved in unexpected ways. I clearly remember my
first chat with Gilson Rodrigues, the Paraisópolis’ community leader, back in 2012: ‘You should
be aware that soon we will hang a warning sign in the front door of the Community Center
declaring: ‘the entry of researchers is forbidden’ ‘. Since then, I’ve been putting some effort in
honoring a kind of personal promise, in order to be part of Paraisópolis’ transformation, acting
beyond a standard researcher. In the end, the master dissertation expanded into more concrete
actions, such as the construction of the everyday HOUSE, a 1: 1 prototype built on the top of
the Community Center, serving Mãos de Maria, project created by the Women’s Association
of Paraisópolis. This prototype assembles simple and replicable strategies which are capable
of informing the self-construction process in Sao Paulo, based on environmental criteria. The
application of these strategies by the residents themselves has already started in Paraisópolis
and it can be now enlarged, during the pandemic, through the digital platform MUDE!. In addition, everyday HOUSE participated in the 11th and 12th International Architecture Biennials of Sao Paulo, by invitation and open call, respectively; it was recognized with prizes in Detroit, Cairo and Hong Kong; and it was published in the IAB Guide for the UN 2030 Agenda.
for-sao-paulo makes reference to my PhD research, entitled ‘A SAO PAULO FOR THE FUTURE’,
also supervised by Gonçalves. Against the grain of the unbridled juxtaposition of buildings in the
urban territory, the thesis proposes the city’s requalification through the creation of interstitial
infrastructures based on environmental, morphological and social parameters. The PhD thesis
was nominated by FAUUSP for a national award, in 2021.
far-beyond-sao-paulo refers to a curatorial exercise developed for the Latitudes Network, founded
by the Univesity of Westminster in 2014, in London. Through a global open call, Latitudes Global
Exhibition puts together research and project experiences in A&U which were then presented
in Ahmedabad, Sao Paulo, Chennai and London.
Ultimately, I acknowledge the importante of public educational institutions and public funding
throughout my trajectory. This fact reinforces my duty to assert my social role as an architect
and urban designer willing to discuss and design the city, once the limits of A&U - discipline and
practice - are also recognized. I believe, in fact, in the need of overcoming the boundaries of
theoretical discourse, putting our feet on the ground and being active agents for change.