MATERIALITY AND VOLUMETRY
IDENTITY EXPRESSIONS IN THE CONFIGURATION OF MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35572/arql.v4i15.7725Keywords:
materiality, volumetry, architectural identity, multifamily buildings, critical regionalismAbstract
This article investigates the relationships between materiality, volumetry, and architectural identity in multifamily buildings, using as a case study the architectural production of Teresina, Piauí, across four phases of high-rise development, from 1969 to 2024. We compare eight representative buildings from Teresina with three paradigmatic examples from other Brazilian cities and examine how material and volumetric elements express architectural identities and respond to specific sociocultural, climatic, and market contexts. We combine documentary analysis, direct observation, and critical interpretation, applying a framework built from the concepts of critical regionalism, phenomenology, and tectonics. The results reveal a trajectory that starts from a brutalist modern expression, moves through phases of greater market appeal, with formal fragmentation and material diversification, and reaches a globalized contemporary language, with weaker regional connection. The comparative examples, especially those from Recife, show a more consistent search for a modern regional identity.
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