The Brazilian 20th Century’s Houses. Digital Documentation for Preservation and Enhancement of Modernist Architecture and Design Processes

The essay wants to contribute to the international discussion related to the conservation of the XX century modernist architectures, highlighting the crucial role of the preservation of the master’s legacy. It is a matter of memory conservation that can be achieved by means of technology integration and analyses methodology able to greatly improve the knowledge on these projects. The contribution describes an ongoing research path that, along the past five years, has been already able to digitally document dozens of modernist buildings in many regions within the Brazilian territory. Thus, the text explores the possible integration of several techniques such as digital elaborations, 3D modelling and 3D surveying, in order to identify the right tools and all the information to improve the knowledge of, not only the buildings, but also the design process applied by the XX century’s masters. Above All, three famous modernist houses are here analyzed by the proposed methodology: Casa de Vidro (by Lina Bo Bardi, 1949), Casa Olivo Gomes (by Rino Levi, 1951) and Casa das Canoas (by Oscar Niemeyer, 1953). These three projects are the most suitable case studies to explore the design methods of the great masters that along the 50s and the 60s significantly influenced the meaning of “modern house” in Brazil. Designed by the three of the most important architects and built in 3 different regions between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the houses are considered among the most significant examples of modern architecture in Brazil.