Summary - TST 23

TRANSPORTES, SERVICIOS Y TELECOMUNICACIONES


TST 23

Beatriz Mugayar Kühl
A expansão ferroviária em São Paulo (Brasil) e problemas para a preservação de seu patrimônio. 


[Download the complete article in pdf format]

<<< SUMMARY TST 23

Key Words: Railway, Railway Stations, Workshops, Cultural Heritage, Industrial Heritage, Industrial architecture.

[ Abstract ]

This article discusses the Railway expansion in the State of Sao Paulo and some issues concerning cultural heritage. The expansion of railways in São Paulo from 1867 was connected to the increasing number of coffee plantations; this interdependence offered significant basis for the State’s industrialization process. Railways played an important role in the organization of several cities and of the territory of Sao Paulo, entailing changes in its landscape and buildings. They were also responsible for the transformation or the introduction of specific architectural types, promoting the rationalization of projects, of construction sites and the dissemination of construction materials that were hardly used in the region, such as bricks, iron and glass. Buildings related to railways are a relevant testimony of the art of building properly, of good composition, and of locating an industrial complex that still characterize many cities and areas in Sao Paulo. They are important not only for historic reasons, but also for memorial and symbolic ones. Railway heritage, despite its relevance, has not, until now, been significantly acknowledged by the State’s preservation policies, and many recent interventions do not respect the configuration, the material characteristics, and the historic and documental aspects of the buildings.