Palace of Justice Raymundo Faoro : access for all to brazilian modern heritage sites

Abstract

Brasilia’s urban landscape is almost entirely consisted of modern architecture. Buildings constructed from the 1960s to the present day follow Le Corbusier’s concepts proposed in 1926: the supports, roof-gardens, the free ground plan, and horizontal windows and free façade. Besides this, modern Brazilian architecture exhibits characteristics such as the presence of crafts, integrated arts, lightness, symbolism; and the influence of the Promenade of Le Corbusier’s. All these elements combined define the design of the modern space usually materialized with apparent concrete, glass and steel, among other materials. These elements are commonly used by preservationists during interventions in historic heritages, due to its distinguishable characteristics in terms of material consistency and patina. However, the presence of patina is not so easily accepted in modern heritage buildings. In this scenario, steel corrosion, small cracks in the concrete and patches on the coating are signs of pathologies and do not mean value, such as age-value. Authenticity is a tool to appraise values normally present on the fabric of the heritage and on the patina; but how to assess modern buildings’ significance where material consistency alone is no longer a defining characteristic of the heritage? This paradigm involves the understanding of modern architecture not only by its physical consistency, but also by its spatial logic design. In addition, modern laws require access to cultural heritage for all, a challenge to the preservation of historical or recent heritage buildings. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of state-of-the-art of the preservation of Brazilian modern heritage sites through the analysis of the Palace of Justice Raymundo Faoro designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1962. This goal might be achieved through the use of the Matrix of Authenticity and Accessibility [1] that provides building characterization with emphasis on authenticity and guides the interventions for universal access adaptations, through the identification of architectural barriers and their impacts on material consistency and on the original spatial design. This article suggests the Matrix is an effective tool for obtaining a complete information framework, a guideline for adaptations of historical or modern heritage.