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Parque Anhembi

1968, São Paulo
Landscape architecture: Roberto Burle Marx (partially realised)
Associates: Haruyoshi Ono, José Tabacow
Architecture: Jorge Wilheim, Miguel Juliano e Silva, Massimo Fiocchi

The Parque Anhembi was conceived as a modernist trade fair and exhibition centre, comprising an exhibition pavilion, a convention centre and a hotel. Burle Marx designed the landscaping, with the premises divided into two zones. The zone located between the convention centre and the hotel features a strongly geometric design with a water feature, rectangular flower beds and geometrically patterned paving stones that both echo the lines of the buildings and connect them. The clients requested a particularly large open space for this zone as the square is a heavily frequented area and used for events. The second zone on the side of the square features a more open layout and denser planting. Original plans for the oval water feature detail walk-through concrete sculptures of up to eight meters high.

The park was only partially completed, primarily in the area between the buildings. The islands with sculptures on them, connected via paths, were never constructed. However, they are vividly brought to life in Burle Marx’s drawings.