in focus / SESC 24 de Maio
Completed in 2017 by Paulo Mendes da Rocha with MMBB Arquitetos, the SESC 24 de Maio building is the latest cultural center commissioned by the Serviço Social do Comércio (SESC). Located in downtown São Paulo, Brazil, SESC 24 de Maio addresses notions of “heritage” by selectively adapting the structure of a pre-existing building in order to implement a vision for comfortable leisure activity in a high-density commercial area. The architect builds upon the site’s history as the former headquarters of the bankrupted Mesbla department store chain, but he brings a new social agenda to this 27,865 m2 plan. Boasting a number of wellness-focused amenities, the fifteen-level building seeks to respond to the shifting needs and desires of the community at large.
SESC, acclaimed for its ethos of “social transformation,” contracted Mendes da Rocha as principal architect for this project—a solution to a perceived lack of public space for leisure activities. Commended for his “architecture of profound social engagement,” Mendes da Rocha has designed innovative, public-oriented spaces since his modernist beginnings in the 1950s.[1] As the product of this collaboration, SESC 24 de Maio represents a mission to revitalize the culture of downtown São Paulo via socio-spatial transformation on both urban and human scale. Investigating this case of transformation is important for questioning the role of SESC, a private yet tax-funded entity, in mediating experiences of heritage and community welfare in São Paulo through its cultural facilities.
Melanie R. Ball 