One challenge of studying a recent architectural project is locating the historical framework from which to approach it. In order to ground the SESC 24 de Maio cultural center (2017) in its historical and contemporary context, this blog will extend beyond the limited scholarly studies dedicated solely to this project. My critical discussion will turn to the history of SESC itself—its overarching goals of the “formation of fuller citizens and participants in the life of the country,” its other projects focused on culture and leisure, its public reception, and the evolution of the organization’s role in mediating community experiences of belonging and heritage as a tax-funded, private entity over the last seven decades.[1]
Founded in 1946, SESC proclaims that the organization aims to establish locations throughout Brazil which offer a variety of activities to the Brazilian public that “introduce new models of cultural action” while also “making an effective contribution to more long-lasting and meaningful experiences.” In the state of São Paulo, SESC operates forty-three venues for “culture, sports, health and food, children and youth development, senior citizens and social tourism,” for which they have collaborated throughout the years with internationally-renowned architects such as Paulo Mendes da Rocha.[2] A closer study of SESC history through a combination of its own online resources and historical accounts of other popular SESC cultural facilities will frame my question of where SESC 24 de Maio fits within this longer history of socio-spatial transformations. In particular, examining the “adaptive reuse” strategy employed throughout SESC history at other more widely-studied SESC buildings—such as famed architect Lina Bo Bardí’s SESC Pompéia (1982)—may reveal further evidence of the type of revitalization SESC 24 de Maio is intended to provide.
In the brief years since its construction, SESC 24 de Maio has already caught the attention of online architecture news, receiving praise in Architectural Review and ArchDaily among other review sites. The 2019 publication Critical Care: Architecture and Urbanism for a Broken Planet (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2019) included the building as a case study for its alternative vision of “caring” architecture.
But how does SESC 24 de Maio “care” for its public?
This combination of popular media coverage and recent scholarship ushers in positive reception of SESC 24 de Maio, but a more critical analysis of SESC 24 de Maio will require an historical inquiry into the SESC program’s role in São Paulo and the notion of reinvigorating a department store headquarters as a solution for promoting cultural heritage. Considering the generous illustration of 24 de Maio as a successful project raises questions as to how this building has already been, and will continue to be, shaped by its users and contemporary political and economic context.
This blog takes a critical lens to the role of SESC itself in mediating this type of successful cultural experience and juxtaposes this history with the building’s reception and use since its opening.
[1] https://www.sesc.com.br/portal/sesc/o_sesc/
[2] https://www.sescsp.org.br/en/sobre-o-sesc/quem-somos/apresentacao/
Melanie R. Ball 