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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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eduardopizarro.arq@gmail.com