Anhangabaú: jardim tropical

As part of the expanded schedule of the 10th São Paulo Architecture Biennale, the Instituto Bardi / Casa de Vidro held the exhibition “Anhangabaú: Jardim Tropical”, focusing on the project presented by Lina Bo Bardi and her team for the National Design Competition for the Recovery of the Anhangabaú Valley, in 1981, which corresponded to the central theme of the 10th Bienal “City: ways of doing, ways of using, ways of acting”. Curated by Renato Anelli, professor of architecture at USP – São Carlos, the exhibition also included the colloquium “Conversando sobre Lina Bo Bardi”.

          Nicknamed “Anhangabaú Tobogã”, the project foresaw the construction of a long, undulating and very high prestressed steel walkway for cars, freeing the valley for pedestrians in the form of a large and open central park. Tall and leafy tropical trees coexist with the even larger “steel trees” – the pillars of the walkway that resembled the trunks of wild gameleiras with voluminous roots and branches -, a large lawn to be freely walked by the people, in the center a lake crossed by a bridge, it would take up the space of the São João Avenue underground passage, and the buildings around it would be preserved, some even restored and suitable for new uses.

The project did not win the competition and did not get off the paper, however, it showed an avant-garde proposal to transform the city center of São Paulo, with a structure of surprising shape and proportions for its time, as well as other projects of the architect.

With drawings from the Institute’s collection and a model made especially for the proposal, the exhibition concentrated the objects close to the library, preserving the original format of the spaces and their furniture, which allowed the public, during the visit, a broader perception, involving the exhibition and the Glass House as a domestic space.