CELACANTO

Year 2 at the Architectural Association. As a part of Celecanto: the experimental two programme at the AA, we investigated questions in responding to a site based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the Parque Lage School of Visual Arts. The school is housed in an eclectic, heritage-listed mansion, located in what is left of the Atlantic rainforest that once surrounded it, the Tijuca National Park. Through site visits and the analysis of specific cultural artifacts, responding to our first impressions, students dug deeper into a chosen topic in order to create a vocabulary for an architectural intervention. Making use of this vocabulary, each student in the programme proposed an architectural development. The experimental 2 programme, Celacanto, is integrated into the events leading up to UIA 2020 Rio: 27th World Congress of Architects, and Rio 2020: World Capital of Architecture – Unesco UIA. My project aims to open Parque Lage to a wider audience by bridging fine arts with pop culture, inspired by Brazilian popstar Anitta. The proposal expands EAV's art department to include music, making art more accessible. A key design feature is the pink and golden quatrefoil ceramic tiles, influenced by Anitta's outfits, which drape along the structure like sequins on a dress. This democratic approach to design seeks to attract diverse groups and invite them to explore the world of art in a more engaging way.