three floors of vivid interventions give life to abandoned building for design week são paulo

how long do we have?: Virginia edifice turns into a vivid stage

Artists and designers from and outside Brazil were invited to transform a neglected building into an artistic stage with their artworks for the DW! São Paulo Design Week 2023. Brazilian real estate developer Somauma initiated a thorough rejuvenation project to welcome cultural activities to downtown São Paulo, with the exhibition dubbed ‘O Tempo das Graças’ marking the beginning.

Located on a corner plot that overlooks Avenida Paulista, one of the most important avenues in the city, the retrofit project sees three floors of vivid installations giving life to the derelict iconic building, which dates back to the late 1940s.

designboom visited the structure and captured the charm of the vibrant artworks that seemed to sprout from the crevices in the walls while others dangled from the ceiling or emerged from the cracking floors. Lauro Andrade, the founder of the DW! São Paulo walked us through the intervention, together with the curator Cláudio Magalhães who shared the vision behind the exhibits. ‘O Tempo das Graças’ seeks to find ways to tackle environmental issues stemming from cultural habits, as well as to accentuate the need to build a network of affections, ‘where new frontiers of possibilities emerge’.

image and video by designboom

reviving são paulo’s downtown region

This project aims to create a multisensorial experience that encourages self-reflection and inspires ideas for building a democratic and sustainable tomorrow. Somauma (see more here) proposed to open the ground floor to the community, introducing a well-lit and inviting gathering space. With this first step of the regeneration project, they seek to turn the neglected Virginia edifice into a residential block it was once, enriching the area’s charm and attracting artists and creatives to settle there.

‘O Tempo das Graças’ is spread over three levels, each dedicated to social and day-to-day life topics. Informed by rampant consumerism and waste generation, as well as destitution and degradation, the artworks fill the derelict rooms unveiling narratives of our industrialized reality.

Mannequins completely wrapped in duct tape, piles of trash, inflated creatures suspended from the ceiling, and worn-out furniture that has lost its identity all nod to the socio-political scenes. Vivid artworks fill the cracks in the walls, plug the holes in the floors or dress the bathtubs and create a genuine beauty that blooms from the ruins.

image by designboom | ‘O Tempo das Graças’ is part of a rejuvenation project