Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo (FAUUSP) is a brutalist educational building in São Paulo, Brazil, designed by João Batista Vilanova Artigas in collaboration with Carlos Cascaldi. Founded in 1948 by faculty from the Polytechnic School, the school occupied its iconic current building, completed in 1968 and inaugurated in 1969. The structure centers on a dramatic central atrium with a sweeping main ramp that rises through the building's height, accompanied by skylights, creating a space intended for both political and cultural gatherings and spontaneous collaboration. Classrooms ring the atrium's perimeter. Conceived to embody austerity over consumerism, the building stands as one of Brazil's principal representatives of architectural modernism. Vilanova Artigas, himself a faculty member, had shaped the school's original Bauhaus-influenced curriculum, which balanced technical training, history, and design. The building has been recognized with heritage designations from both Conpresp and CONDEPHAAT at the Good Class level.