Pampulha Church Photos, Belo Horizonte Renovation Project, Brazillian Building, Architecture Images
Pampulha Church in Belo Horizonte
Modern Architectural Restoration Project in Brazil – 20th Century design by Oscar Niemeyer Architect
18 Oct 2019
Pampulha Church Building
Architect: Oscar Niemeyer
Location: Belo Horizonte, Brasil
One of Belo Horizonte’s (MG) main landmarks, the Pampulha Church underwent detailed restoration, carried out by Construtora Tecnibras and reopened on the 4th of October. The Modern building by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer had been closed since June 2018 for restoration.
Renewal works had included the repair of water infiltrations, including complex works to replace the wooden ceiling at the nave. The refurb also included additional maintenance work such as cleaning and restoring the external ceramic tiles, repainting the chapel and restoring the Portuguese pavement of the sidewalk.
The São Francisco de Assis Church, popularly known as the Pampulha Chapel, is a building that holds great historic value, a mark of modern architecture, protected by IPHAN (National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institution), and, since 2016, part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The works developed on the church were part of commitments made with UNESCO to modify the projects of the Pampulha Ensemble after it was included in the World Heritage List. Due to the importance of the church’s design, broad studies were carried out to ensure the preservation of heritage values.
According to Tecnibras, the restoration project entailed an intervention carefully considering the constructive details, to maintain the character of the cultural asset as well as the conditions of authenticity and fruition. They also worked to protect the material assets that form the ensemble.
According to Tecnibras, replacing the central nave’s wooden ceiling, damaged by water infiltrations, was the most challenging aspect of the restoration. Each piece of the ceiling’s wooden panel had unique measurements, each different from the rest, so each panel was mapped and the old parts were used as molds to make the new ones.
The restoration of the external ceramic tiles also required a lot of attention. The areas where the tiles were detached were manually restored and reattached, followed by manual cleaning so as not to damage the tiles and the laying mortar.
Tecnibras also added that, in addition to all the attention to the heritage aspect, they followed the best engineering practices, including modern technologies such as 3TC multilayer insulation, widely used by NASA.
The restoration was selected by IPHAN to receive funds from the Growth Acceleration Program for Historic Cities. The works were managed and inspected by the City of Belo Horizonte through the Capital’s Development Superintendence (Sudecap) and the Center for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais). The Archdiocese Curia of Belo Horizonte and the State Institute of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Minas Gerais were also involved in the restoration.
About Construtora Tecnibras
Founded in 1963, Construtora Tecnibras has a solid track record in the State of São Paulo’s construction industry. Working predominantly in the public sector, following its purpose of meeting the Country’s social demands, the construction company has developed works in the areas of Restoration, Safety, Education, Health and the Environment. Throughout its 55 years, it developed more than 800 works, including the restoration of São Francisco de Assis Church (Pampulha Church) in Belo Horizonte, the Princesa Isabel Room at Palace José Bonifácio in Santos, the Caetano de Campos State School (a 14th century school) in São Paulo.
Pursuing sustainable growth, Tecnibras has been increasingly enhancing its management processes and governance and compliance policies, investing in efficiency to deliver world-class construction products and services. Recently, the restoration works at the Pampulha Church received the ISO 9001:2015 and PBQP-H (SiAC) certifications.
Photographer: Lucas Nishimoto – Construtora Tecnibras
Design: Oscar Niemeyer
Restoration:Construtora Tecnibras
Pampulha Church in Belo Horizonte images / information received 181019
Location: Belo Horizonte, Brasil
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