Elémenterre teaching bag

Animation:

Anaïs Guéguen Perrin (CRAterre)

Alain Briatte Mantchev (Laboraterra Arquitetura)

What if you discovered what happens on a microscopic scale when you build with earth? With ÉlémenTerre, explore the properties of earth through a series of educational, interactive, simple, fun… and sometimes surprising… experiments.

Through 13 experiments, various elements that make up earth are manipulated and sometimes mixed to understand the interactions that occur during construction processes. Through these material experiments, the workshop helps us understand the surprising behavior of matter in grains, the role of clay and water, and answer a fundamental question: how to transform a raw material into a sustainable building material—and how sustainable is it?

Élémenterre is a pedagogical and didactic tool developed by CRAterre to introduce students, professionals, as well as children and the general public, adults and children, to the properties of the earth material to understand why and how it is possible to build with raw earth.

This tool develops a new understanding of earth matter to allow participants to better open themselves to creation and innovation in architecture and construction with earth, through various manipulations that highlight the characteristics and behavior of earth matter components.

The development of specific pedagogical tools, based on the scientific and artistic exploration of the earth, contributes to the rediscovery and promotion of this often-ignored, even despised, natural raw material. These tools contribute to a better understanding of Earth's architectures, enriching and strengthening an approach based on the development of intangible resources, which has been at the core of the CRAterre laboratory's approach since its inception, through the promotion of local resources and constructive cultures for a sustainable habitat.

Free

Places: 20 per class

Registration

Morning class – 10am to 12pm

Registrations must be made here.

Registration will be open until the start of the workshop, on site, as long as there are spaces available.

Afternoon class – 3pm to 5pm

Registrations must be made here.

Registration will be open until the start of the workshop, on site, as long as there are spaces available.

On October 11th and 12th, eight workshops will be held, each lasting 1.5 hours. The full schedule and times are at the bottom of the page.

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The EA-UFMG Nature Politics Research and Extension group is proposing the workshop "Inventa(rio) Fronteiras – Playing for Multispecies Cities," developed from the academic research project "Fronteiras" (FAPEMIG APQ-02540-24). The activity is structured around a game that serves as a methodological tool aimed at deepening the understanding of socio-environmental conflicts in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and landscaping. The proposal is part of the group's discussion on methodologies for Multispecies Projects, which seek to integrate non-human agents as active subjects in the constitution and maintenance of urban ecosystems. Through playful dynamics, it invites participants to map, narrate, and imagine other ways of inhabiting territories, recognizing the multiple existences that make up life in cities. The workshop encourages attentive listening to the visible and invisible borders that mark spaces and their conflicts, expanding the critical and sensitive repertoire for professional and academic practice.

Team – Nature Policy Research and Extension Group EA – UFMG.
Coordination: Luciana Braganza, Marcela Brandão.
Scholarship holders: Ana Clara Vitor, Beatriz Amorim, Geisielly Saroa, Maria Clara Campos, Thales Andrade, Bruna Sirotheau, Marcelo Eisenberg.

The proposed game, developed by the group, is a playful methodology that simulates the construction of cities through the interaction between individuals, highlighting how urban projects can benefit or harm different individuals. It is structured as an Empathy Game and considers the interaction and coexistence of different species—human and non-human—in built environments, seeking to overcome communication and interpretation challenges that often hinder understanding in urban design and planning processes. The game's structure, objectives, and dynamics allow each player to experience the construction of the watershed as their character.

The goal is to promote a critical discussion on climate resilience and urban planning, using games as a dialogical tool. The workshop aims to raise awareness among participants about conflict situations in planned territories, which often marginalize the presence of non-human subjects and some humans, such as racialized people and the homeless. This workshop hopes to not only spark reflection but also inspire projects and concrete actions toward more inclusive cities.

Participants will be invited to play with their bodies, assuming roles such as water, wind, plants, animals, or humans from various groups. The pawns are the people themselves. Construction, conflict, connectivity, and permanence cards introduce real-life situations and spaces, such as buildings, floods, deforestation, and afforestation, allowing players to experience the consequences of different urban interventions depending on the character they play.

Free

Vacancies: 20 per class (8 classes)

Attention: Bring drawing materials. Do not wear high heels or pointy shoes.

Registration:
Registrations must be made by form available here.
Selection will be made in order of registration.
Registration will be open until October 10, 2025.

Schedule:
Each workshop will last 1h30

11/10 – 9am to 10:30am
11/10 – 10:30 am to 12 pm
October 11th – 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
11/10 – 3:30pm to 5pm

12/10 – 9am to 10:30am
12/10 – 10:30 am to 12 pm
October 12th – 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
12/10 – 3:30pm to 5pm

If you have any questions, please contact the Natureza Política Group via email: natureza.política@gmail.com.

Climate change in recent decades has posed new challenges to how cities are planned and managed. The increasing frequency of extreme events, such as heat waves, flash floods, prolonged periods of drought, and rising sea levels, highlights that the traditional urbanization model, based on rigid and poorly adaptable structures, no longer offers adequate responses to current demands. In this scenario, a new approach to urban management is urgently needed, based on systems thinking, capable of integrating mitigation and adaptation strategies, integrating residents as co-protagonists, and reconciling human development with environmental balance.

It is in this context that projects that utilize Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) stand out. These solutions are based on the principle that natural processes can be incorporated into urban dynamics to offer long-term social, economic, and environmental benefits.

Different types of NBS, such as constructed wetlands, bioswales, bioretention and detention basins, river rewilding, urban sponge forests, among others, help urban environments absorb, store, and reuse rainwater, reducing flooding and improving aquifer recharge. Green spaces, linear parks, green roofs, rain gardens, and ecological corridors become strategic elements, while simultaneously promoting population well-being, increasing soil permeability, conserving biodiversity, and contributing to thermal comfort. In this way, ecosystem services—such as climate regulation, air purification, protection of fauna and flora, and the provision of recreational spaces—are continuously enhanced, expanding collective gains.

The proposed workshops seek to explore precisely this transformative potential. Using a fictional city as a starting point, participants will be invited to analyze urban challenges and propose different NBS, exercising creativity and integrated thinking when faced with complex problems. The process will be overseen by the Sustainable PRO team, which will present the fundamental concepts for implementing NBS, including bioengineering techniques, ensuring that the solutions developed are not only technically feasible but also consistent with social and environmental needs.

More than an academic exercise, the workshops aim to awaken a critical and innovative perspective in participants, demonstrating that adapting to climate change depends not only on large-scale engineering projects, but also on small, multiple interventions, inspired by the very logic of nature and the involvement of residents as co-protagonists of the projects. Thus, each proposal will contribute to reinforcing the idea that greener, more permeable, and integrated cities are also more humane cities, prepared to face the climate challenges of the present and future. Bonus: POP Book.

Free

Vacancies: 25 per class (2 classes)

Each participant will receive 1 book about Parque Orla Piratininga as a gift.

Class 1

6.10 – from 2pm to 5pm

Class 2 

7.10 – from 3pm to 6pm

Registration:
Registrations must be made by form available here.

Registration will be open until one day before the workshop starts.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

The construction sector accounts for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, and the adoption of renewable materials becomes crucial in the face of the climate emergency. In this context, engineered wood stands out as a viable alternative, incorporating CO₂ into its growth cycle, reducing structural loads, and enabling prefabricated solutions that minimize waste onsite. However, designing with these technologies requires professionals to master specific guidelines, topics still rarely covered in traditional architectural training in Brazil.

The workshop "Entre Laminas e Vais" (Between Blades and Spans) addresses this knowledge gap, encouraging tactile and direct interaction with the material and disseminating concepts for designing timber structures within a Brazilian context. In groups, participants will receive kits containing scaled-down parts to develop a low-complexity architectural project, assisted by architects and engineers specializing in such structures. The process is a collective investigation, in which hypotheses are tested directly during the model's construction process.

Overall, the workshop is an immersive experience that combines technical learning, design practice, and critical reflection on sustainability. Based on the real-world construction possibilities of glued laminated timber (GLT), the activity proposes the creation of physical models as the primary tool for experimenting with and designing timber structures. Thus, the workshop seeks to revive manual practices for learning and applying cutting-edge technology as a contribution to a more sustainable national architecture.

Free
Vacancies: 30

Registration:
Registrations must be made by form available here.
Selection will be made based on the training and professional performance of applicants, forming a diverse group with different experiences.
Registration will be open until September 30th.

The Workshop's proposals will seek new ways to address issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation through interdisciplinary projects, bringing together university students and young graduates, researchers, and professors from both countries. By interdisciplinarity, we mean bringing together architects, urban planners, landscape architects, geographers, engineers, environmentalists, artists, and designers. Proposals should address issues related to climate, materials, energy conservation, recycling, water protection, biodiversity, and the natural forest landscape.

To this end, we intend to associate, from the first design intentions, that is, within the design process itself, the science and technology of different disciplines with the knowledge of indigenous and quilombola populations, through the integration, valorization and interpretation in the design of ancestral implementation and construction methods.

The long-term goal is to create prototypes in different urban situations through design exercises, creating examples of possible more sustainable futures, raising awareness among local populations, those responsible, young professionals, researchers and schools.

The first workshop with French and Brazilian students will be held in 2026 on the 36-hectare plot of land of the "Fruta do Lobo" reserve in Bananal, where 70,000 native Atlantic Forest trees have already been planted in place of pasture by the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation.

Since 2023, the RPPN has held different events with local schools, including plantings, environmental pedagogy, and artistic interventions by guest artists each year.

The theme of the architecture workshop will be "ecological" tourism within the RPPN perimeter. Students will design equipment and structures immersed in the young forest to accommodate researchers, biodiversity observers, and students, as well as a collective space for groups, debates, conferences, and research related to issues related to climate, building resilience, nature preservation, ancestral heritage, and art.

During the Biennial Workshop, French and Brazilian guests will be asked to think together about the structure of the workshop on the Fruta do Lobo site and its future replication, in terms of methodology, for other situations.

The final production of the Workshop would be a collective work proposing a way to organize and conduct the process of territorial and architectural design in a warmer world, based on the creation of a common language between the world of indigenous and traditional culture and the world of scientific knowledge.

France :

Jérémie Bedel, urban architect, director of the Studio Mundis agency (Paris), professor of theories and practices of architectural and urban design at the International Terra Institute, associated with the Fruta do Lobo project.

Michel Hoessler, TER agency, urban landscaper, Landscape Award 2007, Grand Prix of Urbanism 2018 (France).

Sophie Moreau, architect, Director of Strategic Action, Research and Innovation Directorate at CSTB (Centre technique et scientifique du bâtiment) Paris.

Boris Weliachew, architect and civil engineer, specialist in risks, especially landslides and water management, PhD in architecture and professor at the Paris Val de Seine School of Architecture

Laurent Salomon, Doctor of Architecture, Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et Lettres, Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes Académiques, Honorary President of the French Society of Architects, member of the Paris Academy of Architecture.

Mauricio Guillermo Corba Barreto is an architect and researcher with a PhD in Architecture, trained in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and France. Specializing in rural habitats and earthen construction, he combines design, research, and training in development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. He works at the National Higher School of Architecture in Grenoble, a laboratory of the CRATerre Institute.

Brazil:

Sérgio Marques, Architect and Urban Planner (FAU/UniRitter, 1984). MooMAA member with architecture and urban planning projects in the environmental area. Associate Professor, Department of Architecture / PROPAR / UFRGS. Coordinator of DOCOMOMO Sul Núcleo RS. Member of the Plano Coletivo group, winner of the project and curatorship for the Brazilian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2025).

Sandoval Amparo dos Santos, master's degree in architecture and urban planning, PhD in geography, professor of geography at the University of Pará, and former geographer at FUNAI. Director of the film "O Pranto de Poinkarah," selected for the Pila International Film Festival in Argentina.

Mryxore Kayapo, indigenous person from the village of Las Casas, southern Pará, Architect and Master of Ancestral Knowledge, collaborator of Ob-Ter, Interdisciplinary Observatory of Public Policies, Social Movements and Territorialities of the southern State of Pará.

Jucimar Ipaikire Rondon, Architect and urban planner, Kura-Bakairi indigenous, builder and collaborator in research on indigenous architecture in Mato Grosso.

José Henrique Penido Monteiro, a Mechanical Production Engineer (PUC-RIO), is currently a specialized engineer at COMLURB (Rio de Janeiro), where he distinguished himself by leading strategic projects such as the waste treatment of the Biomethanization Unit at Ecoparque do Caju (RJ). He was Undersecretary of State for the Environment in Rio de Janeiro and is a consultant for PAHO, UNDP, GIZ, the World Bank, and the IDB.

Helena Ayoub, Architect, professor and PhD at FAU-USP, Department of Design, group of disciplines of Building Design, technical director of Helena Ayoub Silva & Arquitetos Associados

Special guests who will participate in the workshop:

Sérgio Magalhães, Architect with a PhD in Urban Planning, Professor of Urban Planning at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ

Nivaldo de Andrade, Urban Architect, Vice President of the Americas for the UIA

Ana Altberg, Architect PUC Rio, Master FAU-USP, studio in Rio de Janeiro, co-author of the book “8 Reactions for After” and project Casa na Bocaina awarded by IAB-SP.

José Afonso Botura Portocarrero, Architect in Cuiabá, author of “Indigenous Technology in Mato Grosso”, Secretary of the Environment, Cuiabá City Hall

Claudia Macedo, Vice-president of the Biosphere Institute IBIOS

Diego Igawa, Biologist, representing the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, project coordinator in the Protected Areas program.

Ana Fernandes Xavier, representing the São Paulo Forestry Foundation.

Debates open to the public:

Location: Oca Pavilion | Bookstore | Basement

Day 7: Positive experiences: debate from 5pm to 6pm with Sérgio Marques, architect from UFRGS, Michel Hoessler landscaper FR, Mauricio Corba architect – CRAterre laboratory FR, Mryxore Kayapo, indigenous architect from southern Pará

Day 8: First proposals: Debate from 5pm to 6pm with Helena Ayoub, architect FAUUSP, Sandoval Amparo, geographer University of Pará, Boris Weliachew, architect/engineer FR, José H. Penido, engineer COMLUR RJ

Day 9: Final proposal: debate from 5pm to 6:30pm with Jucimar Ipaykire, indigenous architect and urban planner from Brazil, Laurent Salomon, architect from France, and Jérémie Bedel, architect from France.

Free

The workshop is closed to invited participants and the debates are open to the public.

Workshop Design: architects Cristina Garcez and Jérémie Bedel, with the collaboration of Sérgio Magalhães and Nivaldo de Andrade
Organization: Cristina Garcez and André Cid Nogueira Alves, RPPN Fruta do Lobo team
Sponsorship: Guarambá Association « le réveil de la forêt Mata Atlantica » – Paris
Support: SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, São Paulo Forestry Foundation, São Paulo Department of the Environment, ONE TREE PLANTED (USA), IBIOS Institute, CSTB (Scientific and Research Center for Construction, Paris)

Proponents: Architect Prof. Dr. Renata Priore Lima (UNIP); Architect Ms. Antonio Castelo Branco Teixeira Jr. (Amora Perdizes); Architect Prof. Dr. Beatriz de Almeida Pacheco (UNIP); Architect Ms. Thamires Zelinda dos Santos Souza (FAU Mackenzie).

This workshop will be a space for reflection and collective action, focusing on the relationship between the city and its waters. The initial discussion will feature recordings of previous walks through the two neighboring basins (Água Preta and Sumaré), raising questions about how to combine local solutions with integrated watershed planning. The discussion will address sustainable drainage projects and green-blue infrastructure, exploring everything from microdrainage techniques such as permeable pavements, rain gardens, bioretention ponds, and bioswales; to territorial-scale macrodrainage strategies such as linear parks, floodplain parks, and ecological corridors, which promote water retention and infiltration into the urban fabric.

Starting with technical walks through the basins of the Sumaré and Água Preta streams, which are areas marked by covered springs, large reservoir projects over squares and the degradation of protected green areas, the activity seeks to identify conflicts and opportunities to implement Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and develop proposals, through models and sketches.
This workshop arises from the urgent need to rethink the role of architecture and urban design in the face of the water and climate crisis in São Paulo. The focus is on these two river basins (Sumaré and Água Preta), located in the West Zone of the city of São Paulo, which are home to channeled streams and unfinished gray infrastructure projects, in addition to witnessing the reduction of green areas due to the removal of vegetation cover to make way for new condominiums. Added to this are institutional projects of large swimming pools over tree-lined squares and new subway stations, which exacerbate flooding in the area and the formation of heat islands. Given this scenario, a practical laboratory for redesigning urban infrastructure is proposed. The initiative demonstrates how architecture can mediate the relationship between technology and territory, converting degraded spaces into multifunctional systems that integrate drainage, biodiversity, and public use.

Vacancies: 120

Free

Registration:

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

Registration will be open until October 5, 2025.

CLIMATIVA, comprised of two major phases, facilitates a cross-cutting approach within municipal public administration for the participatory and autonomous development of the PAC. This method brings the population that is invariably affected by the consequences of extreme events into the development of responses to the climate crisis.

During the risk assessment stage, data on the territory's characterization, damaging events, climate projections, public policies, infrastructure, and land use are analyzed to obtain an initial indication of climate risks. Subsequently, two additional assessments of territorial climate risks are conducted through participatory workshops. A first set of workshops seeks to understand the situation through the eyes of technicians working with the municipal administration, and a second set through the voice of the population. The result of the first stage is a collectively constructed climate risk assessment, from which recommendations for climate actions relevant to that context are made. This initial filtering of actions is used for prioritization by the population and, subsequently, for the technical details and drafting of the PAC.

It is recommended that the process be initiated by the municipal government, which is responsible for implementing and monitoring the PAC. However, the PAC's development work is led by a management group composed of municipal technicians and civil society representatives. In addition to lending greater legitimacy to the PAC, this partnership proves essential for broadening the municipal vision of the climate crisis's challenges and expanding the range of possible responses for the region.

Vacancies: 25

Free

Registration

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Priority will be given to public servants and people working professionally in small and medium-sized cities.

Registration will be open until September 24, 2025.

Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture is one of the strategies to curb the advance of urban sprawl, as an economic activity compatible with nature. In this context, the ornamental crop production chain is highly relevant in the Southern Rural Zone of São Paulo, both territorially and economically. Therefore, the Sampa+Rural Program has been conducting innovative, focused work to support the agroecological transition of these crops, providing technical assistance and rural extension, in a pilot project involving 20 farmers. This involves the adoption of conservation practices, intensified biological treatments through the use of solid and liquid bioinputs, consistent soil coverage, and, most importantly, the elimination of herbicides and/or other practices that impair soil permeability.

We invite landscaping professionals to contribute to a greener and more sustainable city, alongside rural producers and public officials from the São Paulo City Hall (SMDET and SVMA). We want to understand the purchasing needs of this market and the possibilities for support on this path to sustainability, such as the inclusion of native species and the encouragement of local and sustainable production. The activity seeks to encourage dialogue between these stakeholders, aiming to build awareness and market maturity regarding the importance of agroecological production in the municipality, so that these initiatives can be valued and enhanced. It also brings to the debate the issue of native species, which are researched and cultivated by SVMA at the Manequinho Lopes Nursery, and which could be produced in agricultural areas, generating ecosystem benefits for the city. We understand that the more space this type of production gains, the greater the potential for other conventional producers to embrace the move toward a healthier city for all forms of life. As part of the 14th International Architecture Biennial, we propose this meeting to establish connections in the construction of sustainable management appropriate for the region, which can collaborate and impact the entire city environmentally and economically.

Come be part of this innovative, nature-based solution to climate change!

September 25th – 1pm to 5pm

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – visit to Viveiro Manequinho Lopes (Umapaz/SVMA) to see native ornamental species cultivated by the City Hall.

3pm to 5pm – discussion group with landscape architects, farmers and municipal agents: “For a sustainable production chain of ornamental plants in the city of São Paulo”, Umapaz.

Target audience: landscaping professionals, ornamental producers, public officials

Vacancies: 50

Registration:

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

After an interactive lecture led by architects and urban planners José Bueno and Riciane Pombo, we will invite participants to a guided walk through the Park to understand the formation of Ibirapuera Lake by the Sapateiro River Basin with the support of the Audio Guide “Aguas do Ibirapuera” produced in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art in 2022.

Rios e Ruas was created in 2010 by architect and social urban planner José Bueno and geographer Luiz de Campos Jr. to transform the perception of millions of Brazilians regarding the difficult reality of rivers and streams confined alive beneath the urban fabric of cities. Its mission is to promote and inspire multiple initiatives to stimulate the discovery, recognition, and desire for clean and regenerated rivers in Brazilian cities.

More than just a socio-environmental education project, Rios e Ruas (Rivers and Streets) uniquely integrates art, science, and culture, having inspired and implemented hundreds of initiatives throughout its 15-year history. These initiatives have impacted thousands of people, whether through city expeditions, cultural and artistic exhibitions, publications, documentaries, inspiring lectures, or as the central theme of countless press articles.

Riciane Pombo is an architect and urban planner and founder of Guajava Arquitetura da Paisagem e Urbanismo. She specializes in architectural and environmental and urban planning projects, such as parks, squares, river restoration, and drainage systems for watersheds, applying green infrastructure principles and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). She develops technical and educational materials on NBS, supporting the formulation of public policies on this topic at the national and international levels.

Vacancies: 50

Free

Registration:

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

Registration will be open until the start of the Workshop, on site, as long as there are spaces available.

The "Rehearsal for After" workshop involves the critical and creative reuse of discarded materials from construction projects and scenographic assemblies, as well as elements brought by participants. This will be the first in-person event for SuB, a community of architects from different regions of Brazil who meet periodically to discuss the broader field of architecture, the arts, and professional practice. These meetings provide members with the opportunity for dialogue between diverse professionals outside the strictly academic environment. This is the result of an initiative by architects who, after completing their doctorates, recognized a gap in the dialogue between professionals in academia and those working in the practice of the profession and other fields of architecture.

The overall goal of the project is not only to experiment with constructions in extreme scenarios and reuse existing structures, but, above all, to create as a community. The Workshop will offer visitors to the São Paulo Biennial the opportunity to meet others, not only by sharing their opinions in lectures or discussion groups, but also by taking home what they collectively build. Similarly, in recent months, the SuB Community has been promoting conversations focused on current and pressing themes, with professionals from different fields within architecture, many of whom work in the broader field of art and architecture.

Thus, on this occasion, through the manipulation of discarded objects, we hope the workshop will lead participants through a sensory, reflective, constructive, and collaborative experience, activating imaginations about how to inhabit the worlds to come. By the end, we will have creatively rehearsed, in the face of precariousness and scarcity, how to transform the uses and meanings of available objects in order to recreate the notion of individual/community. Against the backdrop of the climate and social emergency, we will rehearse the limits and possibilities of designing through improvisation and discomfort, questioning the implications of a collective body in the constructions of the After. By experimenting as a group with minimal constructed forms, participants activate a sense of cooperation, a fundamental capacity for rebuilding the idea of community in times of crisis. The After that is rehearsed here is based on emergency and an invitation to collective imaginations and possible futures, built together.

Vacancies: 25 each day

Free

Registration:

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

Registration will be open until the start of the Workshop, on site, as long as there are spaces available.

It is possible to register for both days of the Workshop.

First Half (duration: 45 minutes)
Sunday, September 28, 11am

In a way, we can say that the evolution of the city of São Paulo is strongly linked to the use made of its river floodplains, from a soccer field to a sanitation facility to inhabited areas, with valley-bottom avenues and occupied areas. Some neighborhoods in São Paulo and its outskirts are built entirely on the floodplains, and therefore it is essential to discuss what it means to inhabit and occupy these areas, especially in times of climate change.
Floodplain football, now known as amateur football, was initially played in the floodplains, lands where rivers expand when they carry a lot of water. Playing football in a floodplain meant having a temporary relationship with the water. You could only play when there wasn't much water.

We're accustomed to making a distinction between areas where there's always water, like rivers and lakes, and areas where we don't see water, and then we build houses to live in. Humans have tried to make this distinction between water and land fixed and permanent. They've drawn it on maps and built walls around rivers and dams to keep the water from escaping the space humans have decided is theirs, to keep it from invading the space they inhabit. But we constantly see that water escapes, it can't be contained.

This workshop is an invitation to discuss how you want to coexist with water in the city of São Paulo, playing amateur soccer.

We will only use one half of the field, one goal. No goalkeeper.
Participants begin in a circle and, as time progresses, spread out across the field. Initially, the ball is in the center of the circle. Anyone who wants to start speaking or express their opinion goes and gets the ball. Those who agree and want to continue speaking ask for the ball, and if anyone wants to say something different or contrary, they steal it or intercept the pass.
It may be that during this process two or more teams—groups of like-minded people—will naturally form.
Scoring a goal, in this process, becomes a way of marking a key point in the discussion for the speaker (or their group).

Vacancies: Minimum 10 participants – maximum 22 participants

Registration:

Registrations must be made by email: alessio.mazzaro@polito.it

Send: Name and contact phone number

Everyone is welcome to participate.

Selection will be made in order of registration.

Registration until September 26th

The workshop will be recorded (audio and video).

The workshop “Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge” invites participants to reflect on the relationship between modernism, the city, and sustainability.

The starting point will be the architectural complex of Ibirapuera Park, a landmark celebration of Brazilian modernism, where Niemeyer proposed fluid, light, and open spaces for social interaction. More than half a century later, these same buildings and their location within the park become fertile ground for a current question: how can architecture respond to the demands of environmental comfort and the transformations imposed by climate change?

The course aims to develop critical observation through drawing, exploring how architectural elements—such as the monumentality of curves, the use of concrete, and the relationship between covered and open spaces—interact with environmental factors such as sunlight, shading, ventilation, and drainage. The program combines theoretical sessions, which present the history of Ibirapuera Park and its impact on São Paulo's urban planning, with practical observational drawing activities in the park itself.

The artistic practices will focus on learning and improving techniques such as linework, proportion, perspective, and the study of light, encouraging each participant to capture their own perceptions and translate into drawings the experience of observing architecture in a climatic context. At the end of the course, there will be an exhibition of the work developed.

The workshop is led by architect Leopoldo Schettino, an Italian graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II and a Master in Architecture and Urban Planning from FAU-USP. His work includes being hired by the city of Pompeii (Naples) to develop the city's master plan and redevelopment projects for open spaces—such as squares and gardens—an experience that solidified his thinking on the relationship between urban space, landscape, and quality of life.

His international experience also extends to meetings and workshops in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, led by renowned architects such as Álvaro Siza, Aires Mateus, and João Nunes, who constantly expand his critical and design vision. In Brazil, his career has been linked to collaborations with leading firms, including Oscar Niemeyer Arquiteto, Isay Weinfeld, and Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos. A specialist in traditional and digital drawing techniques, Leopoldo Schettino combines design and teaching practices, offering a sensitive, critical, and pragmatic perspective on architecture and its role in contemporary challenges.

Vacancies: 50 (vacancies have been increased)

Participants will receive a certificate of participation.

Free

Attention: The workshop will be held in two sessions, on October 10th and 12th. It is not possible to participate in just one of the days.


Registration:

Registrations must be made by form available here.

Registration will be open until September 30, 2025.

“Imagining Architectures for a Warming World” is a 20-hour hands-on workshop that invites participants to explore the speculative potential of artificial intelligence applied to urban imagination in times of climate emergency. Using ComfyUI (Stable Diffusion) software, participants will learn to manipulate urban images to design visual interventions that critically respond to scenarios of risk, injustice, and collapse, but also imagine sustainable, regenerative, and desirable futures.

The workshop seeks to broaden participants' imaginative range by proposing the creation of both utopian and dystopian visual compositions, articulating visual narratives that critically and creatively reflect on the climate crisis. AI is understood here as a tool for aesthetic and political mediation, capable of challenging the relationship between representation and action in the urban context.

Divided into five modules—introduction, two production sessions, finalization, and exhibition—the workshop combines theory, practice, and collective creation. The final product will be a public exhibition at the Biennial, composed of projected images. The proposal aligns with the curatorial axes of the 14th BIAsp by addressing climate justice, urban adaptation, and symbolic reforestation of cities.

Open to students, architects, urban planners, artists, and other interested parties, the activity will have up to 20 participants, selected based on a letter of intent and portfolio. Each participant must bring their own laptop capable of running ComfyUI or using a cloud service (such as RunPod). The workshop will provide installation tutorials and prior guidance. The Biennial will provide internet infrastructure, tables, chairs, and a projector.

The workshop is free, subject to registration and selection process.

The final product will be a collective installation open to the public in the Biennial space.

Vacancies: 10

Free

About the proponents:

Victor Sardenberg is an architect and researcher focused on experimentation in architectural design, particularly in the areas of computational aesthetics, robotic fabrication, and artificial intelligence. In his doctoral thesis at Leibniz University Hannover (Germany), he developed a computational framework for predicting aesthetic preferences using artificial neural networks. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Mackenzie Presbyterian University and a professor at Detmolder Schule für Gestaltung (Germany).

Camila Zyngier is an architect and urban planner, professor at UFMG, and researcher in the areas of urban planning, geotechnologies, and participatory methodologies. Her work combines academic practice and creative criticism, exploring topics such as urban visualization and artificial intelligence in urban planning.

Marcella Carone is an architect, computational designer, and professor. With a Master's degree from AA (MSc EmTech) and a bachelor's degree from Mackenzie University, she has over a decade of experience in multi-scale projects. She works with feasibility, algorithmic design, AI, optimization, and digital fabrication. She is the creative director of M3C1, a firm that investigates the intersections of architecture, urbanism, design, and technology. She teaches in the graduate program at Mackenzie University, in addition to leading workshops on AI and computational design.

Structure

Module 1: Introduction and Contextualization (9/15 – 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm – Online) Presentation of the 14th BIAsp and its theme Examples of images and interventions with AI Installation and introduction to ComfyUI

Module 2: Production I – Desirable Interventions (September 19 – 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM – In-person) Representing climate risks and injustices (dystopias, collapses, resistance)

Module 3: Production II – Warning Scenarios (September 20th – 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM – In-person) Reimagining the city with a focus on positive solutions (climate utopias)

Module 4: Finalizing Images and Printing (9/21 – 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM – In-person) Curating the images produced Preparing files for printing/exhibition

Module 5: Exhibition of Results: Collective installation at BIAsp (projection and/or printing). Open discussion with the audience and participants. Organization of the Final Product: display of the generated images, printed or projected on the wall. The workshop concludes with an exhibition open to the public.

Registration:

Registrations must be made by email: vsardenberg@gmail.com

Selection will be made after analysis of the material sent in the application.

Documents to be submitted upon registration:

• Full name

• Contact email and phone number

• City of residence

• Letter of intent (approximately 3 paragraphs)

• Up to 3 images of previous work that help demonstrate the candidate's creative and/or technical profile (can be included in the PDF or sent separately)

Selection criteria:

• Participants will be selected based on the letter of intent and work examples submitted, considering:

• Clarity and depth of interest in the workshop topic

• Quality and coherence of the images presented

• Diversity of profiles and areas of activity among those selected

Deadline for registration:

• Registration will be open until September 13, 2025.

• The result will be announced by email by September 14, 2025.

Other information:

• Participants must bring their own laptops capable of running ComfyUI, or bring a simpler laptop and pay for the use of a cloud service (such as RunPod, approx. 10 USD).

• A tutorial with installation and preparation instructions will be sent in advance to those selected.