Architecture Of Brazil Part II - Street Photos and Minor Research Into Pioneers of Modern Architecture Who are From Brazil. + A Deep Dive into Portuguese Brick Sidewalks.

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(Edited)

I keep taking photos of the buildings that I see even though I have been in brazil for about 2 months now. There are still buildings that catch my eye and make me want to take their picture.

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Like this, Its cool how some people never sell their house even when the area gets super expensive and then developers build giant towers right up to the property line leaving a little relic like this behind.

Skyscrapers in Rio right when you emerge from the subway tunnel in Centro

The Patterns in the architecture are what i love so much. Visual patterns are everywhere to be seen in Brazil. Its this fusion of Nature and Modern Architecure.

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I think it comes from:

Roberto Burle Marx: Pioneered modern landscape architecture using native Brazilian flora, abstract geometric forms, and a painterly approach that blurred boundaries between architecture and environment.

Affonso Reidy: Emphasized social housing, structural clarity, and integration with landscape—especially in collaborations with Burle Marx (e.g., the Pedregulho Housing Complex)—creating humane, functional modernism.

Roberto Burle Marx is now one of my favorite artists.

Even the favelas have their own kind of visual pattern that references the skyscrapers in a way, in how the rectangles climb the mountain like a living patchwork.

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The idea of patchwork is what really speaks to me as an artist. I was bombarded with this every single time i looked at the ground when I was walking on the sidewalk. All of the sidewalks are Black and White portuguese bricks, some containing elaborate patterns.

white limestone and black basalt

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I really found it fascinating that they used this tile-work pretty much everywhere in Rio. All of the bricks are placed by hand.

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I heard that these bricks started as ceramic scraps, not actual bricks, because it was cheaper to use the scraps and i heard they used slaves to lay all these bricks down. I would like to research and learn more about ONLY the Portuguese bricks.

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They fall apart sometimes, and need to be maintained. Holes develop in the sidewalk and are filled with sand, temporarily before a maintenance worker can come and replace the bricks with some kind of cement.

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When a pipe needs to be installed, the bricks must be removed. I love everything about this. Instead of using cement, these brick patters are preferred and used everywhere.

One day when I was walking to the beach I saw a group of maintenance workers fixing up part of one of the walkways that crossed over the highway.

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Some kind of morter is used. Its mixed with sand maybe, but its not normal hard cement. Water is added after the bricks are in place.

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The labor intensive process that is involved here is so cool and artistic. If I lived in Rio I would want this to be my job. I would enjoy very much going around and repairing the brickwork. It looks super fun.

and then, the hole is repaired and the pattern is seamless

My air Bnb also had the coolest tiles on the floor of the first floor entryway.

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Back to the buildings, Here is a funny juxtaposition of barbed wire and modern residential housing.

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Patterns everywhere...

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Lots of beige, white and gray colors in the buildings. There is also a radical Blue that is used in the windows. I think it has some kind of anti-UV radiation aspect to them because you see this in california too where its hot.

building in sao paulo

I think i'm going to do a separate architecture post on Sao Paulo because the buildings are all shorter but there are a lot more of them, and the street art is unique...

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I liked how this one reflected a green aura onto the ground. I went and stood in the green light and it felt cool.

More notably interesting skyscraper buildings in downtown centro that I spotted on a peaceful sunday afternoon.

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Pretty cool

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Its cool because when walking around on foot isn't enough of an architecture tour, you can take 10 minutes to drive up to the top of a mountain and see what they all look like together, from above.

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18 comments
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The little green house in between the apartment buildings looks so pretty! Definitely a contrast to the minimalistic style preferred today. I love cobblestone streets but don't get to see them as often where I stay. Brazil seems to have gorgeous buildings!

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Some very interesting architecture.

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The green house in the first photo is quite cute and the green skyscraper is really amazing

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The one photo 3rd from last, at first I didn't realize there was a lamp post there and it appeared that tall skinny post was attached to the bottom of the building. I thought "wow, there is a toothpick holding up that building" LOL.... then I looked close and saw it was a lamp post in front and was not part of the building.

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haha! thats the artist's eye we both have. i just tried to make it look good, didnt try to pose the lamp post like that

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Brick sidewalks are not just pathways, they’re living mosaics. Those black and white patterns feel like a silent conversation between the old world and the new, constantly unfolding underfoot.
It’s fascinating how architecture in Brazil manages to blend utility, history, and art so seamlessly.

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it sounds like you used AI to write this, but i still kind of like it

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(Edited)

Sorry, I don't use AI, I just put my words on my own.😊

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So many architectural details in the street. I like the stone patterned wall, it's a way to simulate a texture.

Also how the brick street is preserved between 2 huge buildings. It is impressive.
Thanks for sharing the tour of this beautiful city.

!LUV
!PIZZA 🍕

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they have a great intention to make the sidewalk design more artistic. this is cool @web-gnar

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Brazil is a beautiful city, thank you very much for presenting some amazing pictures and pictures of buildings in this city. The big buildings in this city especially inspire people through their sales. Also, the pictures of buildings on both sides of the city and the road in the middle are really great. The street designs of Brazil and the wonderful designs of tiles are really charming. I wish you success in your journey with these wonderful buildings. However, the design of the city is beautiful and the designs of the buildings are visible wrapped in glass.

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