Studio-X Rio Celebrates 5th Anniversary March 15 – 23rd

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Beginning March 15th, Studio-X Rio, an experimental lab located in Praça Tiradentes in Centro, Rio de Janeiro that is part of the global network of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) laboratories, will celebrate its fifth anniversary.

The event will include the opening of two exhibitions and a lecture series featuring speakers architect Estudio Herreros, Cultural Secretary of the City of São Paulo Nabil Bonduki, and GSAPP and Studio-X members Amale Andraos, Kate Orff, and Pedro Rivera, among others.

Since its beginning, Studio-X Rio has explored the thinking about the future of Rio de Janeiro and other cities through debates, lectures, exhibitions and workshops.

The fifth-anniversary lecture series will open on March 15th with GSAPP members Amale Andraos and Kate Orff and Studio-X Rio member Pedro Rivera presenting the talk Studio-X Rio: 5 anos pensando as cidades (Studio-X Rio: 5 Years Thinking the Cities), a look back at the work of the lab and at the future challenges for the city.

Also opening on the 15th will be the anniversary’s two exhibitions; “Lutar, Ocupar, Resistir: As Alternativas Habitacionais dos Movimentos Sociais” (Fight, Occupy, Resist: The Housing Alternatives of Social Movements) and “Metrópole Expandida: Investigações em interdependências territoriais” (Expanded Metropolis: Investigating territorial interdependency).

“Lutar, Ocupar, Resistir: As Alternativas Habitacionais dos Movimentos Sociais,” is part of Studio-X Rio’s Housing the Majority, an initiative that takes a closer look at the goals, strategies, and achievements of social movements that fight for housing in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Belo Horizonte. “Metrópole Expandida: Investigações em interdependências territoriais” presents two cases study.

The first “Peripheral Fragments” looks on the changing periphery of the city with a focus on the Santa Cruz neighborhood and the second “Water Urbanism” examines the water infrastructure of the Paraíba Valley and how it affects the cities of Volta Redonda, Barra Mansa and Resende.

On March 16th, Cultural Secretary of the City of São Paulo Nabil Bonduki will present “Os Pioneiros da Habitação social: Cem anos de política pública no Brasil” (The pioneers of Social Housing: One hundred years of public policies in Brazil), discussing the history of the government’s role in housing throughout Brazil.

On March 17th a round table entitled “Ocupar, Resistir: Um olhar sobre as ocupações urbanas” (Fight, Occupy, Resist: A look into urban squatting) will feature guests Ticiane Pinheiro an architect of the Manoel Congo Squat; Lurdinha Lopes of MNLM-RJ; Alejandro de Castro Mazzaro of GSAPP; and Pedro Rivera of Studio-X Rio, discussing and debating the rights to occupy or squat in empty buildings and unused areas.

On March 18th, architect Juan Herreros will talk about his most recent works for his Madrid-based architecture practice and on March 23rd, the round table discussion, “Os Movimentos Sociais e o Direito a Cidade”(The Social Movements and the Right to the City) will address the government’s guidelines for squatting and social movements for housing.

For more information about the Studio-X Rio’s fifth-anniversary programming, see the Facebook event page and for more information about Studio-X Rio see the website.

What: 5 Anos do Studio-X Rio (Five Years of Studio-X Rio)
When: March 15th, March 16th, March 17th, March 18th, and March 23rd.
Where: Studio-X Rio, Praça Tiradentes 48 – Centro