Remembering Paulo Mendes da Rocha (1928-2021)
Remembering Paulo Mendes da Rocha (1928-2021)
Paulo Mendes da Rocha – one of Brazil’s most important architects and one of the world’s last great modernists – has passed away in Sao Paulo at the age of 92
Paulo Mendes da Rocha, photographed in 2010 for Wallpaper*.
Photography: Carol Sachs
Paulo Mendes da Rocha, one of the world’s last great modernists, as well as one of his country’s most important architects to-date, has passed in Brazil at the age of 92. Blending beautiful, powerful architectural forms while looking at issues of social engagement, Mendes da Rocha turned his hand to anything from private housing, large-scale, public architecture and furniture; always with a profound sense of materiality, and a flair for creating architecture that is both functional and emotive, defined by bold yet sensitive moves. The architect has spoken about architecture’s impact on the socio-geographic map and urban revitilization, a topic he touched upon also when he became Wallpaper’s advisor for the June 2010 ‘Born in Brazil’ issue.