Resumen de Neoclassicism in the city of Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian materials and techniques setting a new pattern
Marisa Hoirisch, Rosina Trevisan Martins Ribeiro
When Brazil was declared politically independent from Portugal in 1822, the new nation broke up with the traditional Portuguese architecture trend, adopting an international standard defined by the School of Fine Arts. The Academic and French Cultural Mission diffused neoclassical architecture, stimulating the burgeoning of more refined types of buildings, setting aside old colonial solutions.
Among the neoclassical-oriented Brazilian buildings, only the exclusive ones at the big cities seashore, as Rio de Janeiro, have reached a high standard of formal refinement. Its aspects and technical details lived up to those in European standards. Rather than a stylistic fact, the neoclassicism in the imperial capital manifested a symbolic intention. The option for strict composition project rules, severity and the buildings grandeur was inserted into a political context. By the time they were erected, the neoclassical monuments facing the sea emphasized the existence of civil architectural landmarks to the arriving foreigners.
This study focuses materials and constructive techniques introduced in Rio de Janeiro historical neoclassical-oriented buildings. Rather than a simple copy of the European style, this survey concludes they have architectural features of their own, resulting from the use of Brazilian endogenous materials and local workmanship. This paper displays how Brazilian materials and techniques set a new pattern of neoclassicism in Rio de Janeiro. This research intends to be an ancillary tool in promoting a preservation project of the architectural heritage in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
