Architectural Tour Brazil
January 2026

Departure from points of origin in the afternoon/evening.

The Historical City Center

Arrival in São Paulo

Our journey begins in São Paulo’s historic center, where colonial-era structures coexist with modernist and contemporary landmarks. Walking through the city’s oldest districts, we explore how São Paulo evolved from a modest settlement into Brazil’s economic engine. In the afternoon, we visit key cultural institutions and adaptive reuse projects that reflect the city’s ongoing urban renewal.

Economic and Cultural Center Avenida Paulista

Avenida Paulista, once home to opulent mansions built by early-20th-century coffee industry elites, has evolved into São Paulo’s key financial and cultural artery. We explore its layered urban history and bold architectural contrasts, from modernist landmarks like Lina Bo Bardi’s MASP to contemporary projects like the IMS by Andrade Morettin. The afternoon takes us deeper into São Paulo’s cultural landscape, with visits to the Cultural Center São Paulo and two seminal examples of adaptive reuse: Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s Pinacoteca and Lina Bo Bardi’s SESC Pompeia.

Brutalism and the Paulista School and Vila Madalena

This day offers a deep dive into the Paulista School of Brutalism, whose bold concrete structures defined a local, socially-engaged variant of modernism. We begin with visits to emblematic academic and residential projects, followed by an afternoon in Vila Madalena, a dynamic creative neighborhood where architecture blends into the rhythms of daily experience.

Higienópolis and Ibirapuera Park

The morning takes us through Higienópolis, a neighborhood known for its elegant modernist apartment buildings designed by some of São Paulo’s most influential architects. In the afternoon, we visit Ibirapuera Park, where Niemeyer’s pavilions integrate modernist design with lush public space.

Flight from São Paulo to Belo Horizonte

Inhotim: Art, Nature, and Architecture

Inhotim is a unique cultural experience where contemporary art, architecture, and landscape coexist in dialogue. Set in a vast botanical garden in Brumadinho, the park features monumental outdoor works, purpose-built pavilions by renowned architects, and lush tropical planting by Roberto Burle Marx. The day offers a meditative yet intellectually stimulating journey through space, form, and material.

Pampulha and Modernist Landmarks

We explore Pampulha, a lakeside district in Belo Horizonte where Oscar Niemeyer, commissioned in the 1940s by then-mayor Juscelino Kubitschek. These early works embody a playful break from rationalist norms and mark the beginning of Niemeyer’s lifelong collaboration with landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx.

Flight from Belo Horizonte to Brasilia

The Modernist Masterplan

Brasília was born as a vision of a modern nation—its urban structure and architectural language reflect ambitious ideals of equality, progress, and clarity. Today we explore the monumental axis of the capital, where government buildings by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa’s urban strategies create a spatial narrative of power, order, and symbolism.

Residential and Educational Spaces in Brasília

This day shifts our focus from Brasília’s civic core to the cultural and residential zones that shape daily life in the capital. We explore examples of cultural programming and housing, providing a more nuanced understanding of how Brasília has evolved beyond its original masterplan.

Flight from Brasilia to Rio de Janeiro

The City’s History and the Carioca School

We begin our time in Rio de Janeiro with a deep dive into its modernist architectural legacy. From Affonso Reidy’s MAM to the politically significant Palácio Capanema, we trace how the city adapted modernist ideals to a tropical and civic context. In the afternoon, we explore Rio’s evolving waterfront through cultural landmarks that reflect its ongoing urban transformation.

We will also visit the Sugar Loaf mountain at the end of this day.

Rio’s Contrasts: Social Fabric and Iconic Postcards

The day begins in Laranjeras and other hillside neighborhoods, where informal settlements and community-driven architecture offer a different narrative from Rio’s postcard image. In the afternoon, we visit Art Deco landmarks and Oscar Niemeyer’s dramatic Museum of Contemporary Art in Niterói.

Tropical Landscape Design

We conclude our journey with a visit to the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, the legendary landscape architect’s former home and garden-laboratory, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, we visit Casa das Canoas, a residential masterpiece by Oscar Niemeyer nestled in the Atlantic forest—a quiet finale celebrating architecture in nature.

Departure Rio de Janeiro to points of origin

Arrival at points of origin