Lina Bo Bardi

Italian-Brazilian architect who revolutionized modernist design with social consciousness

Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992) reshaped architectural paradigms by merging European modernism with Brazilian vernacular traditions. Born in Italy, she fled fascism to settle in Brazil where she designed iconic structures like SESC Pompéia, a former factory transformed into cultural space preserving industrial heritage.

Her Glass House (1951) in São Paulo became a manifesto of tropical modernism, using local materials and prioritizing communal living. Unlike contemporaries focused on elitist projects, Bo Bardi created MASP Museum (1968) featuring radical 'crystal easels' to democratize art viewing.

As social activist, she co-founded Habitat magazine advocating architecture for the people. Her ethnographic approach preserved indigenous craft techniques through projects like the Bahia Modern Art Museum. Despite being overlooked in male-dominated fields, her work now inspires global exhibitions redefining architecture's social role.