Conservation and sustainability of university heritage: on the relevance of modern architecture and urbanism in the face of contemporary challenges

The proposal deals with the challenges of the conservation and restoration of university buildings of heritage value, in view of the current sustainability targets. More specifically, the proposal focuses on the study of modern architecture that underlay the creation of the first university campuses in Brazil. In addition to buildings, the proposal includes the study of urban and landscape projects, given the close relationship between them. This built university heritage suffers today from a series of alterations made over time to adapt it to changes of use and standards of comfort.

The proposal is based on the hypothesis that the study of original projects and buildings as a document of themselves will reveal a series of qualities and devices capable of meeting most of the current sustainability targets without major alterations and without compromising their preservation. To do so, it takes as an example the building designed by Jorge Machado Moreira for the National Faculty of Architecture in Rio de Janeiro (now the FAU-UFRJ) with its gardens designed by Burle Marx, whose original design comprised devices for natural climatic regulation and the integration of building systems. It also takes as a case study the Central Institute of Sciences, designed by Oscar Niemeyer for the University of Brasília, organised on a spatial principle in which the central circulation area creates an open space with natural light and ventilation.

The methodology thus starts from the architectural study of the original project documents (drawings, photographs of the buildings constuction phases, …) and compares them with a precise survey of the current state of these buildings to allow for detailed three-dimensional modelling, both physical and digital.

During the research stay, the architectural study and detailed three-dimensional digital modelling will be used for structural, energy and materials analysis, preparatory to the sustainable energy retrofitting and preliminary restoration and conservation projects for the building complex and its gardens.

The purpose of the research program 2023-2026, is to develop and compare simulations of possible forms of intervention, seeking the minimum respectful restoration and conservation projects to preserve and restore this heritage in its entirety, while assessing its environmental, economic and usage impacts, for both the Faculty of Architecture, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with ist gardens and the Central Institute of Sciences, University of Brasília.

The research program was approved by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in Brazil in December 2023, and involves collaboration with the University of Italian Switzerland - Academy of Architecture (USI-ARC).

The expected research findings, with dissemination to the national and international scientific community, consists of articles presenting the new benchmark strategies for assessing projects affecting the protected modern architectural heritage in Brazil at international conferences. For the general public, it consists of cultural activities such as heritage education, exhibitions and conferences at the Jorge Machado Moreira Reference Center at FAU-UFRJ.