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Historical

The Architecture and Urbanism College of University of São Paulo -

FAU - founded in 1948, was originated from the old course of
architect-engineer from the Polytechnic School at the same
university. Its founder and first director was Professor Luiz Ignacio de
Mello Anhaia, responsible for the Urbanism training in the old course
and the main organizer of new specific content in the new course that
was in formation.

In the first years, the course combined the technical skills from the
previous model, practically unchanged, with elements of the standard
curriculum of the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes, organized in
disciplines such as plastic, molding, interior architecture, large, and
small compositions. This combination involved a large programmatic
and didactic asymmetry between content, since - as the architect
Carlos Milan highlighted - "the chairs of technical training were usually
governed by engineers, while the so-called artistic chairs were given
by artists, (...) taught in very similar ways, if not identical, to those
adopted for the training of engineers and artists."

With the curriculum reform from 1962, in which teachers as Vilanova

Artigas, Carlos Milan and Lourival Gomes Machado stood out, among
others, established the foundations of the educational structure that
would form the three departments at FAU later: Projects, History of
Architecture and Technology of Architecture. Since this date, this
recognition of architecture, as an intellectual space of convergence of
arts, humanities and technology, has allowed FAU to absorb various
specific themes started to integrate all functions of professional
architects without giving up a wide and generalistic formation process.

Posgratuate teaching was formally established at FAU in 1972. At first

restrictedly to the Masters, the course soon evolved into offering
Doctoral and became the biggest posgratuate program in the country.
Until recently, FAU was the only Brazilian institution that offered a
doctorate in architecture and urbanism. That is why, today, most part
of the teachers, with more titles, from other posgratuate programs in
this area, across the country, conducted the research for doctorate at
FAU.

The research practice, although being remarkable since the first

years of FAU as an autonomy unit, was not fully institutionalized until
the late 1980s. The intellectual exercise of analysis, criticism, and
synthesis, typical of the architecture pratice, has led to peculiar
methods of reality apprehending and proposing, partial and
simultaneously identified with research methodologies consolidated
into other segments of the major areas of applied social sciences,
arts, and technology. Paradoxically, this multidisciplinary transit made
the intellectual activity of architecture and urbanism not fully identify
with any of the recognized references of academic production, what
made difficult it's institutionalization in the larger systems of
registration and dissemination. Today the efforts of this Unit are
remarkable, in order to adapt their production to academic goals
organized according to the purpose of teaching, research and
university extension that build the University of Sao Paulo, while
respecting the specificities of the necessarily pluralistic intellectual
profile of the architect.

Mission

The FAU has two courses: the Course of Architecture and Urban
Planning and the Course Design. The Course of Architecture and
Urban Planning has a mission to train professional architects and
planners to be able to respond the most complex demands of society
related of public interest and environmental requiring specific skills in
the formulation of plans and development projects, conservation,
restoration of the built spaces and urban systems and environmental.
Currently, special emphasis has been given to the methodological
tools needed for the formulation of physical and organizational social
housing alternatives, public buildings, collective spaces and urban
systems, conservation and restoration of built heritage and its
harmonization with the physical natural urban. The Course of Design
has as mission to promote, in the visual aspect of programming, the
interface between informational content and human beings, and in the
case of product design, the interface between technologic substratum
and the same human beings.

And this commitment to the pursuit of new knowledge, through

ongoing expansion of the theoretical repertoire and innovative practice
test, allows FAU - originated in mainly professionals content – to
integrate the academic broader purposes of the University as a whole
today. It is no coincidence that the set of disciplines offered in the
undergraduate curriculum covers innovative content of applied social
sciences, technology, and design practice not covered by the
minimum curriculum officers and the majority of existing courses. Our
College creates paradigms and this implies a great responsibility
related to the prospects of professional practice and academic work
of architecture and urbanism across the country.

Buildings

FAU's heritage consists on tangible and intangible properties. The

buildings are certainly among the first, but nevertheless they don't
leave the strong connection with the intangible side, represented by
the cultural heritage that they settle.

In a chronological order, first comes "Vila Penteado" building at the

Maranhão street, 88 in Higienópolis, São Paulo. It has a palace style,
built in the early twentieth century as the residence of Commander
Antonio's Alvares Penteado family, powerful coffee farmer engaged in
São Paulo' industrialization. "Vila Penteado" was donated to São
Paulo University in the late 1930s, with the specific purpose of hosting
an Architecture School. As the project, the building, projected by the
architect Carlos Ekmam, was considered as a work of art.

The School of Architecture and Urbanism installed the undergraduate

course in this building in 1950 and remained there until 1969, when it
started to be installed at the campus of Cidade Universitária. From
1971 the Vila Penteado building housed the preparatives to set up the
posgraduate course, which occurred in 1972. The building has been
subject of care for its preservation and restoration, especially the
recent renovation of the library's premises. This process has
represented unique opportunity for learning the techniques of
restoration and development of related research conducted by the
FAU own and other units of the USP.

Following in chronological description, the facilities at FAU in Cidade

Universitária were worked over important changes incorporated in the
undergraduate course at FAU by the reforms of 1962 and 1968.
Mainly related to the formal incorporation of content related to
architecture and urbanism, including visual communication, industrial
design and landscaping, previously covered only by individual
motivation of interested teachers in the scope of other disciplines.
Thus, the main building constructed on the campus, designed by the
architect and professor João Batista Vilanova Artigas, went to absorb
not only the activities previously existing but widened to a close
relationship between theory and practice in different stages and
scales of the creative process
The building, designed with functional areas around a large space
(the "Caramel Hall", the seat of civic and cultural events), received
great distinction of recognition on the part of Brazilian society, as
evidenced by its tipping since 1982 and the CONDEPHAAT
COMPRESP. It was also worthy of Jean Tshuma Award of the
International Union of Architects (UIA) in 1985 for his contribution to
the technological development of architecture.

With the growth of academic work, it became necessary to expand

the space necessary for the teaching support services, with this
purpose, the building known as "Annex" was built, and projected by
architect and Professor Gian Carlo Gasperini, winner of an internal
competition promoted by FAU. The building that houses the models'
workshop (LAME), the photo lab and the graphical programming lab,
composes externally with the gauntry of experimental construction,
housed under a tensioned cover designed by Architect and Professor
Reginald Ronconi. Completing the built heritage of FAU, the sculpture
atelier Caetano Fracarolli is integrated in the vicinity of City Hall
Campus of University City.

In an intermediate position between the tangible and intangible, is

located the College Libraryis located, one of the largest in the country
relating to architecture, urbanism and visual arts, which in addition to
supporting academic research through literature surveys, establishes
and publishes, from 1950 the Index of Brazilian architecture. Like any
collection of FAU, the index of Brazilian architecture supports
research work not only of his own unit, but of many others, in the USP
and beyond.

The Library has a collection of original architectural projects, rare

books, frequently enriched by donations of Brazilian architects and
their families, making it the most important documentation center of
Brazilian architecture in the world. It is also the depository of the
students' works, many highlighted among their peers, since the first
class graduated in 1952 (some still active) until the present day,
designing and constructing buildings, ordering of cities, industrial
design, visual communication or landscaping. From this collection
emerge around 1200 theses and dissertations and more than 5000
records of productions of this Unit's teachers.

Beyond the Library, the support of academic activities of FAU is

supplied by the following specialized services, some of them located
in the main building and others in the annex building:

· Laboratory of Data - Section of digital bases production to

Architecture and Urban Planning - CESAD,that provide databases of
digital information and archives of news related to architecture and
planning in support of various academic works developed at FAU;
· Laboratory of Models and Tests - LAME,that includes workshops of
models, carpentry, mechanical and painting for the realization of
prototypes, models and mockup;
· Laboratory of Graphics Computer - LCG, name given to the facilities
of informational support to teaching and research, first devoted to
applications of computer graphics and now covers a huge variety of
features and information applications related to the education and
research of architecture and urbanism;
· Laboratory of Graphical Programming - LPG, initially composed of a
printing workshop, now includes comprehensive systems of
publishing, composition and experimentation with different graphics
technologies and responsible for numerous publications of FAU,
including its four periodics, and from other USP Units;
· Laboratory of Audiovisual Aids: Photography - FOTOFAU, originated
in the needs of photographs architectural works, now includes training
in digital photography and digital image processing
· Laboratory of Audiovisual Aids: Video - VIDEOFAU, focusing on
production of documentaries and didactic material to support the
interests of architecture and urbanism, including documentation of the
architectural heritage of cultural value and innovative construction
sites.

The FAU buildings comprise a harmonious set of tangible and

intangible heritage, understandable only when viewed in its entirety.
The conservation, restoration, and continuous functional updated
function are therefore a complex work, worth of consideration by a
Board of Trustees and an Executive Group Management of the
Physical Space of high-level, consisting of teachers and not teachers
servers, committed with the integrity of the physical and cultural
heritage that they are responsible.