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"Architects Brazil."
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Hazardous elements in urban cemeteries and possible architectural design solutions for a more sustainable environment
The general objective of this study is to identify the presence of hazardous elements in the soils of five urban cemeteries in the city of Passo Fundo, in southern Brazil, and to design solutions (architecturally) for future cemeteries to be more sustainable by mitigating toxicological risks to the population residing in the area. A total of 250 soil samples were obtained from points within the cemeteries and in areas surrounding the two oldest cemeteries at a distance of up to 400 m. Twelve architects who design cemeteries primarily focused on sustainability were interviewed, and presented their suggestions for sustainable urban cemetery design. The Building Information Modeling (BIM) computer modeling system was utilized to present a visual representation of suggested architectural features by these architects. The concentration of Pb in the vicinity of cemeteries deserves special attention, as concentrations of this neurotoxin exceed the federal limits set by Brazil. Soil Pb values were found to exceed the limit of 72 mg kg
−1
up to a distance of 400 m from the walls of cemeteries A and B, indicating the presence of a danger to human health even at greater distances. This manuscript highlights construction features that enable future burial structures to adequately mitigate the very real problem of contaminants entering the environment from current cemetery design. Two-thirds of the technicians interviewed for this manuscript, each of whom specialize in Brazilian cemetery design, highlighted the importance of revitalizing urban vegetation both when constructing and revitalizing urban vertical cemeteries.
Journal Article
Levels of hepatitis B antibody titers are affected by age and doses gap time in children from a high endemic area of the western Amazon
Despite completion of the vaccine schedule for hepatitis B virus (HBV), children may display levels of HBV surface antibodies (anti-HBs) that are considered inadequate for sufficient protection (<10 IU/L).
Our aim was to investigate if age and gap time between HBV vaccine doses may negatively affect the levels of anti-HBs in children, and if these relationships are modified by sex.
In a high-endemic HBV region of the western Brazilian Amazon we enrolled children who had completed the HBV vaccine schedule. All children underwent analysis of anti-HBs and a clinical examination.
We included 522 children (mean age 4.3 ± 0.8 years; 50% male). Median anti-HBs was 28.4 [interquartile range (IQR) 5.4 to 128.6] IU/L and 32% had anti-HBs <10 IU/L. The median gap time from last to preceding dose was 2.4 [IQR 2.1 to 3.3] months. Levels of anti-HBs decreased with higher age (-42% per year increase [95%CI -56% to -24%], p<0.001), but not with longer gap time (+23% per month increase [95%CI -16% to +62%], p = 0.249). After adjusting for relevant confounders, gap time became significant (p = 0.032) and age remained a significant predictor of anti-HBs (p<0.001).
One third of assessed children displayed anti-HBs <10 IU/L. Levels of anti-HBs decreased with higher age and increased with longer gap time between the last two doses.
Journal Article
Epidemiological Profile and Diagnostic Outcomes of Blood Donors Following Hepatitis B Screening at the Largest Blood Bank in the State of Pará, Brazil
Background/Objectives: Serological and molecular screening for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been essential in reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection, particularly in regions of high endemicity. This retrospective study aimed to analyze the epidemiological profile and laboratory outcomes of 259 blood donors deemed ineligible after initial reactive or inconclusive screening for HBV markers. Methods: Donors were summoned for revaluation at the HEMOPA Foundation, in Belém, Pará, between February 2015 and July 2016. Demographic data, risk factors, and results for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs, and HBV DNA obtained at the donation and return time points were collected. Results: The mean age was 37 ± 11.25 years, with a predominance of males (56.8%) and first-time donors (76%). At the return time point, 63.7% presented a profile indicative of resolved HBV infection and 3.5% of active infection, 6.6% were susceptible to HBV infection, and 1.9% presented vaccine-induced HBV immunity. Cases of Occult Hepatitis B Infection (OBI, 0.4%) and Window Period (WP, 0.4%) were also identified. Conclusions: The findings reveal a high prevalence of resolved HBV infection among ineligible donors, particularly first-time donors, and reinforce the importance of combined serological and molecular screening, as well as the need for vaccination and health education strategies for at-risk populations. As a public blood bank located in the Amazon region, we highlight that local epidemiological specificities must be considered in the formulation of public health policies that are sensitive to the regional context.
Journal Article
Pedagogy Pro-Design and Climate Literacy: Teaching Methods and Research Approaches for Sustainable Architecture
There is a genuine concern that the current level of sustainability education provided in the mainstream architectural curricula is no longer sufficient to combat urgent climate challenges, and that a stronger interdisciplinary approach needs to be followed where architectural students are formed and empowered with a different pedagogical paradigm, better tools, and diverse sets of skills. This paper examines the various pedagogical approaches to the teaching and learning of environmental design principles and practice in architectural education with a focus on recurrent methods applied in specialist curricula in the UK. An in-depth analysis of a pedagogical case study based on the eight-year experience of the Architecture and Environmental Design MSc course at the University of Westminster is presented with reference to the pedagogical methods identified in the literature. A reflective exercise based on the specific methods adopted in the course and examples of students’ outputs and experiences allows a critical evaluation of the pedagogical case study. The paper concludes by highlighting the challenges and opportunities of introducing climate literacy at postgraduate level and the benefits of adopting a research-led approach based on collaborations with industry partners.
Journal Article
Metals in the soil of urban cemeteries in Carazinho (South Brazil) in view of the increase in deaths from COVID-19: projects for cemeteries to mitigate environmental impacts
The increasing mortality of COVID-19 can aggravate soil contamination by metals, harmful to the health of the population, requiring new projects for future cemeteries capable of mitigating these impacts to the environment, justifying the importance of studying the concentrations of metals in the soil of urban cemeteries. The paper analyzed the levels of metals in the soil of urban cemeteries in the City of Carazinho, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in southern Brazil, considering the increase in deaths by COVID-19, for the purpose of future projects for cemeteries aimed at mitigating the impacts generated on the environment. The soils of the three urban cemeteries in Carazinho were sampled, with 5 internal and external points, with 3 repetitions at depths of 0–20 and 20–40 cm, adding 180 samples to measure the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb (g kg
−1
), considering the analytical sequence: (1) analysis in triplicate with mean deviation (RDS); (2) R2 of the analytical curve; (3) traceability of the pattern of each metal; (4) quantification limit of each metal (QL), with the performance of nitroperchloric digestion of the samples and the determinations of metals by flame modality atomic absorption spectrometry. Quantitative data on deaths by COVID-19 were analyzed by univariate modeling of time series, in the integrated autoregressive moving averages model. The results of this study were made available to fifteen architects, who attributed future solutions for environmentally sustainable cemeteries. The results showed high levels of copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in the soil of the cemeteries studied. Considering the increase in deaths and subsequent burials per COVID-19 revealed a prediction for the death toll of 6,082,306 for June 9, 2022, it is assumed that metal contamination can reach even higher levels. To mitigate these levels of contamination by metals, 80% of the architect respondents expressed their preference for a vertical cemetery, with treatment of gases and effluents to mitigate environmental impacts.
Journal Article
Expressions of Arab Influence on the Brazilian Architecture: The Case of Solar Control Elements
Over the centuries, architects have distanced themselves from the accumulated architectural knowledge, which often provided constructive solutions highly connected to the climatic context and cultural characteristics. With utmost expression from the 20th century on, building designers have assumed a somewhat negligent attitude towards the architectural project, essentially relying on active mechanical systems, to achieve indoor environmental comfort conditions. This paper overviews the current knowledge of solar control elements adopted and developed by Brazilian architecture, tracing its origin to the influence of Arab and Moorish architecture, with the objective of valuing passive solutions. Arab influence in Brazilian architecture began in the 17th century when Portuguese settlers felt the need to adapt the colonial buildings to the climatic constraints, particularly with regard to excessive solar radiation, leading to indoor thermal discomfort and excess natural light. Arab influence in Brazilian architecture remains present until the current day with the same objectives; however, it has been reinterpreted and appropriated by the Brazilian architectural school. Among the most used construction elements during the colonial period were the muxarabis, rótulas, and gelosias. Throughout the 20th century, these elements were culturally appropriated and served as inspiration for the development of the cobogó and the pioneering use of brise-soleis in Brazilian architecture. These elements have spread throughout global architecture, accompanied by the adoption of computer-controlled dynamic solar protection systems. Therefore, it is important to promote traditional solutions and encourage new architects to adopt passive approaches, aiming for energy efficiency and reducing environmental impacts.
Journal Article
Interview with Carlos Comas
Editors Felipe Hernández and Fernando Lara interviewed Brazilian scholar Carlos Eduardo Dias Comas about his encounters with Colombian architecture, from the Seminarios de Arquitectura Latinoamericana in the 1980s and 90s all the way to his role in the construction of a critical assessment of modern architecture in our continent.
Journal Article
“The Nude Man’s City”: Flávio de Carvalho’s Anthropophagic Architecture as Cultural Criticism
Cannibalism is one of the most recognisable taboos of the West and a benchmark with which a supposedly civilised world has traditionally sought to differentiate itself from the radically “other” of the hinterlands. As such, cannibalism has made its way both into the vocabulary of the West’s pseudo-ethnographic self-reflection (e.g. Freud) and the imaginary of its literary culture (e.g. Grimm). A less-well-known strain in this narrative uses cannibalism as a critical postcolonial metaphor. In 1928, the Brazilian poet and agitator Oswald de Andrade published a short text entitled “Anthropophagic Manifesto.” The aim of the manifesto was to distance an emerging Brazilian modernism from the European ideals that the São Paulo bourgeoisie uncritically embraced, and to synthesise more avant-garde ideas with aspects from the cultures of the indigenous Amazonian peoples into a truly national cultural movement. This essay draws on various aspects of the anthropophagic movement and seeks to understand, whether (and how) it influenced Brazilian urban planning and architecture, and especially if it is detectable in the ways in which architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer designed and executed the legal and political institutions in Brasília, the country’s iconic federal capital. The ana-lysis, however, identifies a colonialist inclination in Costa and Niemeyer’s ideological debt to Le Corbusier. Instead, the radical potential of anthropophagic architecture is developed with reference to the less-known São Paulo architect and polymath Flávio de Carvalho whose aesthetic politics provide parallels with contemporary radical politics, as well. The essay suggests that such a notion of politics would be akin to a radical anti-instrumentalism that I have elsewhere, following Georges Bataille and Maurice Blanchot, called a “politics of the impossible.”
Journal Article