Isay Weinfeld
JOANNA HELM
Words
BOB WOLFENSON
Portrait
FERNANDO GUERRA | FG + SG
Photography
ONE OF THE LEADING EXPONENTS OF BRAZILIAN ARCHITECTURE, ISAY WEINFELD ACTS AS IF HE WERE COMPOSER AND CONDUCTOR OF A MUSICAL PIECE THAT HARMONIOUSLY REFLECTS THE WILL OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE ARCHITECTURAL PROCESS.
Isay Weinfeld’s status as one of the most important and influential names in contemporary Brazilian architecture is indisputable. This is nothing new; those looking for proof can peruse the roll of awards and honours acquired over a career spanning over four and a half decades. His architectural presence around the world reflect his eclecticism, thoroughness and the open and pragmatic way he approaches his projects: “Each case is unique” could well be his motto.
Keeping the usual “isms” at arm’s length, Weinfeld flits through architectural grammar in a straightforward manner, but with a certainty few others achieve. Most of all, he’s concerned about how functional his interventions are and about his clients’ well-being. He sums up this idea in an unequivocal and disconcerting way, employing clarity of discourse where it is often hard to find: “Every project decision – from layout implementation to choosing materials - is based on the client’s inspiration (including their taste, deadlines and financial situation), the programme and the place.” Ultimately, this approach depends on the ability to listen, as Weinfeld emphatically repeats. He considers it a cornerstone of his process and something he has cultivated from the very first day. So, while the final work reflects the client’s desires and needs, it also represents the listener, the person who, by listening, grasps and then interprets. This is something the architect takes full responsibility for.
The simplicity ascribed to him, be it his design or theoretical approach, contrasts with an interesting and multifaceted personality whose main raison d’être is insatiable curiosity. This outlook makes him particularly pervious and attentive to his surroundings. Such a sensibility is also connected to his compulsive desire to collect things, where objects take pride of place. Whether they’re simply found or strenuously sought, they must have a fascinating, surprising or dazzling effect, and become part of the narratives that underpin his work.
To a certain extent, his interventions are the final repository of the many influences that Weinfeld has cultivated throughout his life, ranging from cinema, which might just be his greatest passion after architecture, to theatre, literature and music (he’s a hardcore Radiohead fan and has travelled thousands of kilometres to see them). “I try to distance myself from trends, but the arts in general are a major influence... much more than architecture itself. Figures like Bergman, Kubrick, João Gilberto, Tati, Warhol, Mira Schendel, Pina Bausch and so many others are and have been very important for my education and work,” he admits with a certain pride.
When describing his architecture, he often makes comparisons with cinema. The spaces he designs are shaped like potential sets for a film he’s directing, where they reveal themselves in a succession of travellings. They serve a narrative in which contrasts and surprise contribute to a striking and captivating scenic effect, just like in the films he admires.
The son of Polish Jewish refugees, Weinfeld’s family started life anew in Brazil, more specifically in São Paulo, where he was born and raised. There’s a short but touching text on his website, where he describes, in his characteristically elegant style, how his parents arrived in the country and how they settled in the city. Reading it gives us important clues to help understand his approach to architecture.
He graduated from the faculty of architecture at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in his hometown. Here, he also began creating art, collaborating on various conceptual projects, including a series of Super 8 films with Márcio Kogan, a classmate who would also become one of the leading names in contemporary architecture. He went on to make more films, some of them picking up awards along the way. Someone once said that Weinfeld may have a long-standing love affair with cinema, but he married architecture.
Even before graduating, he worked with influential names in Brazilian architecture, such as Jacob Ruchti and Lélio Machado. Later, just after finishing his degree and before striking out on his own, he was a partner at the studio of the prestigious Mexican architect, Aurelio Martinez Flores.
Having grown up in the aftermath of Niemeyer’s modernism, monumental Brasilia and the illusions of the past, Weinfeld soon realised that his path would be different and more geared towards the complex situation in Brazil, where tailored interventions, more appropriate to specific contexts, have great potential, something that chimes more with his imaginative and free architecture.
360º Building - Brazil 2007
Azul Building - Brazil 2016
Cubo House - Brazil 2006
Photo ÁLVARO PÓVOA
Fasano Hotel and Restaurant - Brazil 2003
Vila Bookstore - Brazil 2007
Photo LEONARDO FINOTTI
Throughout his career he has produced a large and varied body of work, including relatively modest projects, such as shops, bookshops, art galleries, restaurants, but also millionaires’ residences, apartment and office blocks, sophisticated hotels and luxury resorts. All were designed with the same commitment and mastery with which he designs exhibitions, sets for concerts or plays, furniture, objects, etc.
His unique quality, his pragmatic approach to challenges, his constant quest for originality, the unusual demands he has always placed on construction, his relationship with clients, the emphasis he puts on comfort and well-being and, obviously, the intrinsic quality of his architectural work, make him one of the most sought-after Brazilian architects.
At the beginning of 2000, when the leisure industry was going through a period of major growth, particularly in the hotel sector, a high-profile entrepreneur called Rogério Fasano decided to turn a respected family business of over 80 years into a top hotel chain. He invited Weinfeld to design the group’s first hotel in São Paulo. The project, which was undertaken in partnership with Márcio Kogan, was a massive success and launched both their careers on the international architecture scene. After the first hotel, Weinfeld and Fasano developed a working relationship that resulted in a series of new projects, restaurants, hotels and resorts, boosting the brand’s prestige and making it synonymous with elegance and timelessness.
In this demanding environment, where architecture meets business, design and culture, Weinfeld demonstrates his great versatility, adapting exterior and interior architecture to diverse conditions and surroundings, while never losing sight of the proposed objectives.
Although alien to dogma, his work reveals certain key traits, such as a careful connection with the surroundings, the fluid relationship between interior and exterior space, something particularly important considering a tropical climate like Brazil’s. That said, he hastens to add: “It always depends on the project and the location. This relationship would certainly be different if, for example, we were in the desert.”
His considerable visual culture allows him to combine different eras and aesthetics in a balanced way, lending his work a remarkable contemporary vigour.
Fazenda Boa Vista, Fasano Hotel - Brazil 2011
Fazenda Boa Vista
Equestrian Center Headquarters - Brazil 2012
Watermill House - U.S.A. 2019
Fasano Las Piedras, Hotel Spa - Uruguai 2011
From tropicalismo he borrowed exuberance and a preference for natural materials, such as wood or stone. Many considered this to be merely an aesthetic choice, however, as he explains, it’s subordinate to various factors converging for this choice to be made, not forgetting that the client’s wishes are fundamental here. We could say that the skilful mix of materials, different textures, a strong graphic sense and cinematic dramatism are his calling card.
As someone with obvious social concerns, although without the political protagonism so common in Latin America, Weinfeld has clear ideas regarding the role of architecture in society and its potential impact: “I believe that architecture, the relationship of the building with its surroundings, with the public walkways, is essential to constructing a more democratic, safer, and more integrated city. And this certainly has an impact on the immediate community and on society, more broadly speaking.”
Asked about his idea of sustainability, he is characteristically laconic: “Nowadays, I think that sustainable thinking, rather than a technical slant regarding construction or production methods, is deeply ingrained in people’s collective consciousness and philosophy of life. In projects, there are issues related to the origin of things, the techniques used and always a preference for local resources, both in terms of materials and labour.”
Designing projects all over the world from his studio in Vila Madalena, on the west side of São Paulo, Weinfeld remains discreet and reserved. Despite his international success, he hates the spotlight. Similarly, he avoids long conversations about architecture, which is understandable when your architecture speaks for itself.