Lina by Aldo — Thought affinities between architects Lina Bo Bardi and Aldo van Eyck

Lina Bo Bardi (1914-92) made her definite mark in Brazilian architecture and culture, with projects such as MASP and Sesc Pompeia, in São Paulo, and Solar do Unhão, in Salvador, connecting culture, politics and anthropology to architecture, and turning them into important axes of social and urban life. The Italian-born Brazilian spent her entire life researching vernacular architecture and the creativity of popular design in building daily objects, incorporating it in her architecture projects and her writing. From the same generation, Aldo van Eyck (1918-99), the renowned Dutch architect, design the famous Amsterdam Orphanage, as well as hundreds of public playgrounds in the town. A thinker on the role of architecture in culture and society, his legacy is marked by humanist creations, promoting spaces for urban interaction.

In 1969, in São Paulo, Aldo Van Eyck visited the Masp and lunched at Lina Bo and Pietro M. Bardi’s Glass House. But it was only in 1994, when seeing the posthumous exhibit “Lina Bo Bardi Arquiteto”, in Londres, that Aldo became enchanted by the architect’s ideas, and dedicated the last years of his life to publicizing Lina’s works, where he saw connections to his own ideas.

Lina por Aldo presents previously unpublished photos taken by Van Eyck in 1996, in a trip to Brazil to visit Bo Bard’s works, in addition to a piece he wrote about her: “Um dom superlativo” [“A Superlative Gift”]. The book explores the affinities between the two extraordinary creators, whose works and thought marked 20th-Century architecture. Guided by five essential aspects in their trajectories, the publication features ten essays attempting to reflect on the convergence and contrast of their oeuvres: their intellectual production as writers and editors of architectural magazines (Mara Sánchez Llorens and Hans Ibelings), their playfulness (Ligia Nobre and Gabriela Burkhalter), their encounter with other cultures (Agnese Codebò and Alejandro Campos Uribe), their involvement with art (Isabel Sanchez and Jorn Konijn), and their ways of thinking about architecture (Francesco Perrotta-Bosch and Marianna Charitonidou). Lina por Aldo intends, through the traces collected and published herein, to make known the thoughts of Lina Bo Bardi and Aldo Van Eyck, reflecting on what would be most revealing in their encounter.

About Lina Bo Bardi
Lina Bo Bardi (1914-92), Italian-Brazilian architecture, left a definite mark in Brazil’s architecture and culture, connecting modern and popular styles, and incorporating culture, politics and anthropology in her projects. With a degree in Architecture from Rome, she arrived in Brazil in 1946 and obtained Brazilian citizenship in 1951. Her work, influenced by the country’s rich culture and the creativity of popular design, includes iconic constructions such as MASP and its expositive project of glass easels, as well as the restauration of Solar do Unhão (MAM-BA), Casa de Vidro and Sesc Pompeia. Bo Bardi also acted as a curator, illustrator and set designer, collaborated with theater and film and, in 2021, became the first Brazilian woman to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

About Aldo Van Eyck
Aldo Van Eyck (1918-99), Dutch architect, was noted for his humanist approach and for integrating vernacular elements to his work. Having studied Architecture in Haia and Zurich, he had a special interest in “architecture without architects”, inspired by Dogon villages, Pre-Colombian pueblos, and Peruvian slums. For the Amsterdam Department of Public Works, he designed over 700 playgrounds, and was also behind the city’s emblematic orphanage. As a part of Team 10, he defied the Ciams’ modernism and contributed with social architecture in projects such as the Hubertus Home for single mothers. Curious and free-spirited, Van Eyck renovated his architecture for over half a century, always faithful to his principles of commitment with society and attention to the human scale.

About the editors
Isabel Diegues is a writer, editor, translator and filmmaker. With a degree in Literature from PUC-RJ, she has edited the works Adriana Varejão: Entre carnes e mares (2010), Pintura Brasileira Séc. XXI (2011), Hans Ulrich Obrist: Entrevistas Brasileiras vol. I (2018) and vol. II (2021), as well as the Dramaturgia collection (2012-now), featuring over 100 books of contemporary theater, among other works. As a writer, she has published Diário de uma digressão — Uma viagem ao sertão do Piauí da Serra das Confusões até o mar (2016) and Arte Brasileira para Crianças – 100 artistas e atividades para você brincar (2016) with Mini Kert, Priscila Lopes and Márcia Fortes. Since 2008, she is Cobogó’s Editorial Director.

Jorn Konijn is a PhD candidate at the University of Eindhoven, with his research on the exhibitions of Hannie and Aldo van Eyck. A writer and curator of design and architecture, he was behind exhibits such as the Dutch Pavilion at the São Paulo International Architecture Biennale (2011); the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Urbanism and Architecture Biennale (2013); the Brazilian Design Biennale, in Florianópolis (2015). He has worked in cultural organizations such as the Dutch Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture, the Mondriaan Foundation, and SICA. He’s the director of Amsterdam’s architecture and urbanism Van Eastern Museum.

Specifications
Title Lina por Aldo – Afinidades no pensamento dos arquitetos Lina Bo Bardi e Aldo van Eyck [Lina by Aldo — Thought affinities between architects Lina Bo Bardi and Aldo van Eyck]
Editors Isabel Diegues and Jorn Konijn
Authors Aldo van Eyck, Agnese Codebò, Alejandro Campos Uribe, Francesco Perrotta-Bosch, Gabriela Burkhalter, Hans Ibelings, Isabel Sanchez, Jorn Konijn,
Ligia Nobre, Mara Sánchez Llorens, Marianna Charitodinou, Marcelo Ferraz, Max Risselada, Paul Meurs
Language Portuguese
Page count 400
Publisher Cobogó
ISBN 978-65-5691-156-4
Design Haller Brun
Format Softcover
Size 11,5 x 18,2 cm
Year 2024
Price R$ 112.00