Lina Bo Bardi

Lina Bo Bardi, born Achilina Bo, was born in Rome in 1914. After studying graphics and drawing at the Artistic Lyceum, she received her degree in architecture from the University of Rome in 1940, as one of the few women of her time.

At the time Europe was being engulfed in World War II, therefore it was difficult for Bo Bardi to start her career as an architect. She mostly focused on illustrating, publishing and editorial work for various publications, such as Gio Ponti’s famous Domus magazine. After the war ended, Bo Bardi launched her own architecture periodical, called “Cultura della Vita”. However, because she had collaborated with the Italian Communist Party (one of the main pillars of the Italian resistance) she and her husband, art critic and historian Pietro Maria Bardi, had an increasingly difficult time in post-war Italy and decided to travel to Rio de Janeiro for some fresh air.

Arriving there, Bo Bardi would later describe it as “dazzling”. The couple quickly decided to settle in Brazil permanently, and Bo Bardi re-established her occupations, designing numerous private and public buildings. She started the influential architecture magazine with her husband called ‘Habitat’. The title that referenced Bo Bardi’s ideal of the house and its interior as a “habitat” to maximise human potential.

Struggling to find a factory that was able to make their furniture designs, the couple decided to take the matter into their own hands in 1948. Together with Giancarlo Palanti they founded the ‘Studio de Arte Palma’ and its factory ‘Pau Brasil’. Here Bo Bardi would pioneer the use of laminated wood in Brazil, as well as furniture with a bent tubular base. The factory soon closed due to the “anti-modern mentality of Brazilian society” according to Pietro Bardi. Nonetheless, Lina Bo Bardi’s career advanced with great speed and in 1951 everything came together and Bo Bardi became a naturalised Brazilian citizen. The ‘Casa de Vidro’ (the glass house) her modernist masterpiece that she designed as a residence for herself and her husband was built and her now iconic bowl chair was released the same year.

Bo Bardi’s career would last many more decades during which she would design public buildings, including, theatres, churches, cultural centres the most famous one being The São Paulo Museum of Art. Additionally, Bo Bardi designed jewellery, film sets, costumes and of course furniture as well. The multitalented designer was also active as a lecturer in architecture, did editorial work and organised and curated many versatile exhibitions. In all of her occupations, Bo Bardi was always conscious of the nature and essence of her newly adopted home that had given her so much.  After a rich life, Lina Bo Bardi died in 1992 at the Casa de Vidro in São Paulo. Thanks to her dedication, the quality of her work, and her social consciousness Lina Bo Bardi is remembered as one of the most beloved architects in her home of choice, Brazil. ~H.

Interesting literature:

Lina Bo Bardi 100: Brazil's Alternative Path to Modernism, Hatje Cantz, Germany, 2015