Vilanova Artigas

1915 /1985

Brazil

João Batista Vilanova Artigas is one of the leading figures in Brazilian modern architecture. He was born in Curitiba, Paraná, and graduated as a civil engineer and architect from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP). His extensive body of work, comprising over 500 projects, includes the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium, commonly known as "Morumbi" (1953); the Louveira Building (1946); the Jaú Bus Terminal (1973); the Zezinho Magalhães Housing Complex (CECAP - 1969); and the building of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at USP (1962). Artigas extended his role beyond the drafting table, participating in artist groups, cultural magazine councils, museums, associations, and the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB).

He was a professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at USP, an institution he helped conceive and establish. The curriculum he designed for FAU-USP served as a model for all subsequent architecture faculties in the country. In 2023, ETEL, in partnership with the Virgínia and Vilanova Artigas Institute, managed by the architect's grandchildren, launches the first licensing collaboration with a limited edition of the Artigas 166 modules, based on the study of the original piece and Artigas's own sketches.

"The city is a home. The home is a city."

VILANOVA ARTIGAS

Founded in 2020, the Virgínia and Vilanova Artigas Institute (IVVA) is a non-profit civil society organization based in São Paulo, dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of architect and professor João Batista Vilanova Artigas (1915-1985) and his companion, visual artist Virgínia Artigas (1915-1990).

The Institute's logo pays homage to the "Vilanova Artigas SC Ltda" office. The design was created by Virgínia using woodcut engraving technique in 1970, at Vilanova's request, to give a new visual identity to his design studio.

The Institute's mission is to continue the work of the Vilanova Artigas Foundation - active between 1985 and 2008 - and the Centenary of the Architect's activities - documentary, exhibition, and book releases - carried out in partnership with Itaú Cultural in 2015. Its objectives include preserving and organizing the couple's collection, currently consisting of drawings, projects, correspondence, documents, photos, objects, and more; facilitating public access; collaborating on publications, exhibitions, lectures, and seminars in the cultural and educational fields within and beyond Brazil, to engage Virginia and Vilanova's values in dialogue with the present.

Currently, the institution is managed by their grandchildren, architect Marco Artigas Forti and documentary filmmaker and journalist Laura Artigas Forti. The Institute's board includes urban planners Ursula Troncoso and Pedro Vada, as well as filmmaker Gal Buitoni. Among the activities carried out by the organization since its founding is the exhibition "Vilanova Artigas: drawing models," presented in Lausanne, Zurich, and Luxembourg between August 2022 and February 2023.

The exhibition at Aberto is IVVA's first institutional partnership in Brazil.

166 Artigas Book case — Vilanova Artigas

166 Artigas Book Case