1964: Guaimbê Residential Building in São Paulo, Brazil

Photo © José Moscardi

The Guaimbê Residential Building in São Paulo, Brazil, designed by Brazilian Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate for 2006.

Architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha designed the Guaimbê apartment building as a long narrow plate. Reinforced concrete walls support the 23-foot span. Mendes da Rocha also created a special screen to protect the surface receiving the most sunlight. The openings on the west facade, with their parallel concrete slats, unify the space and the rhythm of the interior.

^{~Pritzker Prize Committee}