O Palácio dos Estados da Exposição Internacional e o concreto armado: técnica e cidade no ano do centenário

Abstract

The panoramas of the International Exhibition of the Centenary of the Independence of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, 1922) highlight the illuminated dome of the Palácio dos Estados (States Palace), measuring 45 meters, the highest point of the site, built between the sea and Morro do Castelo (Castelo Hill), the site of the city's foundation, which was then being demolished. The Palace was designed by Hippolyto Gustavo Pujol Jr. (1880-1952), a professor at the Polytechnic School of São Paulo, and drew attention for its verticality and the lighting of its dome, nicknamed the “jewel tower”. It was an eclectic building, but with an innovative “reinforced concrete framework”. In addition to its significance at the time of the event, this work finds in the Palácio dos Estados the starting point for an investigation into this then pioneering structural technique and its unexpected impact on the city’s landscape. We based our work on Maria Luiza de Freitas’ thesis, “Concrete Modernity” (2011), to investigate the “reinforced concrete” companies present in the city in the early 1920s, and the discourse on which they relied to promote the technique. To corroborate the interpretation of the images, we sought Valérie Nègre’s reflections in “L’Art du chantier. Construire et démolir du XVIe au XXIe siècle” (2018). Finally, moving beyond discourse and images, we recall Sérgio Ferro’s thesis “O Canteiro e o Desenho” (2006 [1969]), to seek the reflections of technique in the social spheres of the city.