Garagem Poula - antiga Cocheira Recreio: uma proposta de intervenção e reutilização

Abstract

This study focuses on the historic building of Garagem Poula – officially listed as a heritage site at the municipal level in 1987 – located in the central region of Rio de Janeiro. It critically analyzes the policies developed for the conservation of the city's cultural heritage, which began in the late 1970s and were established throughout the 1980s, a period of Brazil’s political re-democratization marked by intense social participation. These policies were initially characterized by legal measures that, through specific laws, granted protection to groups of buildings and monuments with historical value. They thus represented a counterpoint to the prevailing urban planning practices in Rio de Janeiro at the time, which prioritized large-scale projects and interventions. These projects, in response to modernization demands, often involved drastic demolitions of entire blocks in historic neighborhoods to make way for viaducts, new avenues, and streets. However, in 1992, with the publication of the city's Decennial Master Plan and in alignment with the global concept of cultural heritage, the APAC (Área de Proteção do Ambiente Cultural, or Cultural Environment Protection Area) mechanism was formally established. This broadened the scope of legal protection beyond the material aspects of historical assets to include their unique intangible characteristics and urban environment. Nevertheless, with the rise of neoliberalism in the following years, municipal governments shifted their approach to urban management and planning, increasingly incorporating private sector participation. This marked the beginning of a process in which the city became subject to market interests, directly impacting the conservation of Rio de Janeiro’s cultural heritage. In response to this research, an architectural project was developed for the ruined historic building of Garagem Poula, aiming to synthesize, through new uses and perspectives on sensitive restoration issues and architectural interventions in heritage sites, an alternative and reactive proposal to the shortcomings identified in the critical analysis.