AIA International Brazil - Rio's Reviver Centro Plan
Event Description
The Revive the Center Plan (Reviver Centro, in Portuguese) aims to foster a new residential supply in Rio's Downtown after decades of inexpressive new developments. The region has the city's lowest housing density as a consequence of pursuing a Central Business District model instead of mixed-use, a typical condition at the urban core from its foundation until the 50s.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how environmentally fragile a CDB can be without inhabitants and how urgent it is to rethink zoning and housing strategies due to intense vacant office space. Revive the Center Plan has achieved unique results and it is now a benchmark, inspiring other cities in Brazil.
CES: Estimated 1 LU/ HSW for AIA Members
Speaker
Washington Fajardo, President, Pereira Passos Institute for Urbanism, former City Planning Commissioner for Rio de Janeiro
Moderator: Danilo Silva Batista, President, Brazilian Association of Architecture Studios (AsBEA-BR)
Moderator: Gustavo Ribeiro, At-Large Director and Brazil Country Representative, AIA International; Founder, Sito Arquitetura
Washington Fajardo was President of the Rio World Heritage Institute and Rio de Janeiro Mayor's Special Advisor for Urban Issues from 2009 until 2016. He developed innovative solutions for Rio's city, pushing the definitions of historic preservation toward a more exciting place as a design platform.
The Loeb Fellowship selected him for the Class of 2019 at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. After that, he was Visiting Researcher at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.
He's also the author of two books: "Rio's Urban Transformations" and "Rio's Avenues."
In 2021, Washington was appointed the Rio City Planning Commissioner and President of Pereira Passos Institute for Urbanism. He was in charge of preparing a new city masterplan, including an urban recovery plan for Rio's downtown, which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic.
Moderator: Danilo Silva Batista, born in Belo Horizonte-MG, is an architect and urban planner graduated from the UFMG School of Architecture in 1983, a business administrator graduated from FACE-UFMG in 1993 and a LEED GA since 2014. Master in Process and Systems Engineering and Management from Faculdade IETEC in 2017, he has been working in the area of projects and management for 38 years, with extensive experience in projects in the banking and corporate sectors. President of AsBEA-MG – Brazilian Association of Architecture Studios – Minas Gerais Chapter from 2015 to 2017. President of the Brazilian Council of Architecture and Urbanism – Minas Gerais Chapter – from 2018 to 2020. President of the Brazilian Association of Architecture Studios – AsBEA-BR since August 2021. Member of the State Council for Cultural Policy of the Minas Gerais Department of Culture – CONSEC MG since July/2021.
Moderator: Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Gustavo Ribeiro obtained his Architecture and Urban Design bachelor degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais State – UFMG in 1992. He founded Sito Arquitetura in 1994, after winning the "National Competition for the Usiminas Cultural Center at Ipatinga, MG Brazil”, from which a book was later published in 1996. This significant prize created an excellent opportunity for him to achieve a rich experience at an early career stage, leading to 24 years of generalist practice.
He has won many other noticeable prizes throughout his career, namely Milton Campos Square, Betim MG; Belo Horizonte Centennial Landmark; COHAB headquarters, Belo Horizonte, MG; Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora Community Center.
At Sito Arquitetura he is the head of design for projects of various scales and typologies and has been diligently working on Single Family, Multi Family, Housing, Commercial, Hospitality, Retail, Mixed-use and Urban Development projects in Brazil and Africa.
He is currently a board member of CAU/MG for the 2021-2023 term, having also served the 2018-2020 term; Board member of AsBEA MG, serving as Director from 2010 to 2018; BIM committee member of AsBEA, conducting the BIM Workgroup from 2015 to 2016; In 1999 he took a graduate specialization course in Real Estate Development at FUMEC University in Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Brazil, increasing his knowledge in this area. Since then, he has started a real estate development initiative, researching, planning and delivering projects. He truly believes that an insightful architect vision in this industry can greatly improve the way people relate to their environment.
