Caminhos da Arquitetura Moderna em Fortaleza: a contribuição do arquiteto Acácio Gil Borsoi

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of architect Acácio Gil Borsoi in Fortaleza (Brazil), focusing on his main works in that city. Principles of modern architecture were introduced in Fortaleza by the first generation of architects, mostly graduated from Brazilian southeastern universities, and, later on, by young architects, graduated from the Escola de Arquitetura da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), created in 1965. In that context, although following other ways, the professional activity of Acácio Gil Borsoi, an architect from Rio de Janeiro, should be emphasized. The José Macedo family residence, his first work in this city, is designed and built in the late 1950s. Other residential, commercial and public buildings are, also, emblematic examples of modern architecture in Fortaleza produced by Borsoi. This paper discusses, as well, his contribution to the insertion of landscape design in architecture projects in Fortaleza, a practice not adopted by local architects at that time. This integration was the result of a partnership already consolidated in other projects in the northeast of Brazil between the architect and Roberto Burle Marx. Similarly, Borsoi was also responsible for articulating the interior design to architecture, introducing ceramic panels and sculptures in buildings he designed. Borsoi´s importance on national and regional Brazilian architecture is confirmed by the position, although modest, that the architect occupies in modern Brazilian architecture history. Recent efforts undertaken by researchers from the northeast of Brazil resulted in significant contribution to understanding the process of development, distinction and consolidation of Borsoi’s work in a regional context. Such attempts are justified mainly by the diversity qualitative (typological, constructive and language) of his vast work, developed for over nearly fifty years. However, it is important to emphasize that these studies analyze the architectural legacy of Borsoi in Recife (Pernambuco), and in Joao Pessoa (Paraíba) mainly. Nevertheless, there are few references to his projects produced in Fortaleza and their impact on the introduction and consolidation of modern architecture in that city. In this way, further studies on Borsoi’s contribution to Fortaleza’s modern architectural scene, are essential. The importance of this study is based, mainly, in the fact that an excellent architectural production developed in Fortaleza during the 1960s and 1970s, is rapidly disappearing without any specific record or investigation. This paper aims to record and analyze Acácio Gil Borsoi’s architectural work produced in Fortaleza. His professional legacy as an architect, not yet properly documented, deserves emphasis because of his importance on introducing modern Brazilian architecture principles in Fortaleza, seeking the interaction of universal and local values