Lens-Artists’ topic this week is interesting architecture.
Dipping into my archives, five years ago this month, we were in Brazil. These photos are of the new museum Museu do Amanha (Museum of Tomorrow) in Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the renowned Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, this science museum is very interesting, with many interactive exhibits that pose questions about our planet’s future.
The city of Sao Paulo has a variety of interesting architectural structures, dating from colonial times to futuristic modern buildings. The first images were taken along Avenida Paulista, which is closed to vehicle traffic on Sundays, so that pedestrians and bicyclists can enjoy the many interesting places along this avenue in the downtown area. First are several modern buildings and facades, followed by details of a Victorian era house called Casa das Rosas because of its rose gardens in front. The Instituto Tomie Ohtake complex is another example of modern architecture. Finally, in central Sao Paulo is the cathedral, built in neo-Gothic style topped by a Renaissance type dome. Downtown Sao Paulo is a good place to see Portuguese colonial style buildings, such as the Anchieta History Museum (closed the day we were there!). Farther out from the city center is Luz Railway Station, a hub of subway lines crisscrossing the city, as well as trains for travel outside the city. It was built to serve the British-owned Sao Paulo Railway and was built with influences of classic late-Victorian architectural style. Its most iconic feature is its clock tower. We took a subway line back to our Airbnb from Luz after visiting the Pinacoteca, one of Brazil’s most important art museums.
We also visited the capital city of the state of Parana, Curitiba, where we stayed with good friends. One of the most interesting structures is the ultra-modern Museu Oscar Niemeyer (MON) named for the architect who designed it. Its 17 thousand square meters of art exhibit space is now the largest in Latin America.
“O Olho” as it is popularly called – real name is Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Mostly modern art 
Here I am posing in tront of the museum, which from the outside looks small, but some of its exhibit space is under the main structure.
Wanderlust & Wonderment 
I had heard the Sao Paolo was great for modern architecture (sadly we had to omit it from our itinerary due to lack of time and only saw the airport!) but I didn’t know it had lovely colonial buildings too. I really like the look of that Museu Oscar Niemeyer, very striking!
Thank you for your comments! I hope you can get to Sao Paulo some day. We spent a week there completely on our own, doing what we wanted to do and taking as much time as we wanted to at each site. I have spent a lot of time in Brazil, including living there for two years, but hadn’t really been able to explore the largest city in Latin America, so it was fun. There are a lot of art museums, with a lot of modern art done by local artists. Some of it is really spectacular!
Yes, I hope so too!
Great selections and variety. I like the Calatrava!
Amazing varieties of interesting structures! Calatrava seems to be everywhere these days!!