Lina Bo Bardi: 100 - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A stunning 368-page architecture monograph on the daring Italian-Brazilian modernist

The Italian-Brazilian architect and designer Lina Bo Bardi (1914-92) forged a unique path with her bold, modern designs. Spanning architecture, stage design, fashion and furniture, her work drew inspiration from the International Style, which she translated into her own visual language. Fundamental to her work was her thoughtful engagement with her adopted country of Brazil--its culture, society, politics and indigenous design traditions--and her ideas about the social possibilities of design, and she expressed her sometimes radical views in her design work, exhibitions and writings. Published on the occasion of Lina Bo Bardi's hundredth birthday, this richly illustrated volume presents an overview of her oeuvre and highlights her iconic buildings: her home, the so-called Casa de Vidro, the Museo de Arte de São Paulo and the cultural center SESC Pompéia.

Review Quotes

On the heels of her centenary comes Lina Bo Bardi: 100 (Hatje Cantz, $75), a weighty compendium devoted to the Italian-Brazilian modernist. Less famous beyond her adopted home than her colleagues Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa, Bo Bardi's reputation has been stealthily accruing stature since her death in 1992. Trained as an architect in Italy in the 1930s, she arrived in Brazil in 1946 and was soon swept up in the debates surrounding the country's rapid modernization. In projects such as the Museu de Arte de Sau Paulo, the cultural center SESC Pompeia, and her own house, the Casa de Vidro, Bo Bardi infused a humanist touch that was often absent from the prevailing International Style. "For her, history invariably belonged to the now," writes Andres Lepik in the introduction.--Sarah P Hanson "Art + Auction"

The breadth and diversity of her thinking is astounding for any multidisciplinary architect of the time, and she has now rightfully taken her place amongst the canons of taste.--Annie Werbler "curbed.com"

The comprehensive volume features case studies of Bardi's projects, including her intimate Casa de Vidro (Glass House) in São Paulo and the massive cultural and sports complex she designed for the city, the SESC Pompéia. The book also offers essays on everything from her social justice work to her theories on exhibition design, and it provides enough in the way of personal photographs and Bardi's sketches to capture this figure of immense, undersung talent.--Lise Funderburg "Architectural Digest"