Login
Registered users
At Cersaie 2025, Gloria Cabral presented a vision of social and collective architecture, illustrating a design approach that is deeply rooted in the local territory and closely tied to the use of humble, reclaimed materials.
On September 24, 2025, the cultural program Costruire, abitare, pensare ("Building, Dwelling, Thinking"), Cersaie’s platform devoted to contemporary architecture and design, hosted a lecture by Gloria Cabral. This year’s edition was distinguished by an almost entirely female lineup, including figures such as Elizabeth Diller and Ángela García de Paredes, architects from different regions of the world who, through their works, shared insights and perspectives on design.
Born in São Paulo and raised in Paraguay, Gloria Cabral is renowned for her sustainable architecture and ingenious use of materials. For seventeen years she was a partner at Gabinete de Arquitectura, with which she won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2016. Her distinctions also include being mentored by Peter Zumthor in 2014 and receiving the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2021. She now leads her own studio in Laguna, Brazil.
At Cersaie 2025, the architect presented a selection of works of varying nature, all united by the principles that guide her design philosophy. Each project begins with a deep reading of the site and of the social and cultural context in which it takes shape. What distinguishes her architecture most is the use of reclaimed and discarded materials—particularly brick—which she reinterprets with remarkable sensitivity.
>>> Discover the lecture by Ángela García de Paredes
The Telethon Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Paraguay, with which the speaker opened her lecture, perfectly embodies her design philosophy. Built through the extensive use of brick, a material reclaimed from previous demolitions, the center serves as a healthcare and social infrastructure, providing tangible support in a country with limited resources.
The Casa Wabi Pavilion, part of the artistic foundation in Oaxaca, Mexico, is also built using recycled materials. The project serves a dual purpose—both functional and community-oriented: on one hand, it creates a space dedicated to the transformation of organic waste into compost for the foundation’s gardens and surrounding communities; on the other, it provides a gathering place for workshops and lessons on compost production.
The themes that define the speaker’s design research find powerful expression in the installation “Debris of History, Matters of Memory”, presented at the Venice Biennale in 2023. The work takes the form of a “brick tapestry” made from construction debris and mining waste sourced from Brussels, the former colonial metropolis of the Congo. Its patterns highlight the value of discarded materials and the latent potential within these resources. The collaboration between three distinct voices—architect Gloria Cabral, visual artist Sammy Baloji, and art historian Cécile Fromont—gave shape to a work of profound communicative and emotional impact, one that connects and questions the intertwined histories of colonial and mineral exploitation across South America and Central Africa.
The lecture continued with the presentation of two additional projects of deep community value: a student residence and the Ice Storage and Distribution Center in Laguna, Brazil. The latter stands out for its remarkable social sensitivity, transforming an abandoned public building into a space returned to the local fishing community, addressing the economic challenge posed by the lack of ice needed to preserve the daily catch.
Taken together, the works presented reveal a strong commitment to ethical sustainability, a focus on social empowerment, and a deep appreciation for the potential of limited resources.
The presentation concluded with images of the architect’s own studio, a space that reflects her design sensibility, and with a personal invitation to the audience to come and visit it in person.
>>> Discover Elisabeth Diller’s Lectio Magistralis at Cersaie 2025
All images: courtesy Cersaie
