The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) received 88 proposals in the national architectural and landscape design competition for the Covid-19 Memorial. The idea is to create a space that pays homage to those who were affected by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, recognized as such on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), and ending on May 5, 2023. During this period, there were more than 765 million cases and almost 7 million deaths.
The deadline for registration and submission of works ended on April 29th. The next phase of the competition is the judging of the proposals, which will take place between May 6th and 20th. Technical, landscape and preservation guidelines for historical and cultural heritage will be taken into account. The judging panel is made up of architects and urban planners Eduardo Barra, Ernani Freire, Gloria Cabral, Luis Madeira and Regina Pontin, historian Cristina Meneguello and doctor Valdiléa Veloso.
On May 21, 2024, the winners of the competition will be announced. R$40,000 in prizes will be distributed to the three best-ranked proposals. The first place will be hired to develop the projects with a value of R$ 150 thousand. It is estimated that the work on the Covid-19 Memorial should cost R$1.35 million.
“We are happy and more than satisfied with the results achieved so far. This demonstrates the relevance of the competition modality in contracting architectural, landscape and urban projects”, says the competition coordinator, architect and urban planner Cláudio Crispim. “Architects and urban planners from all over the country, recently graduated or already established in the market, compete on equal terms. Furthermore, through different points of view, space is created for debate about the city we want.”
The director of Casa de Oswaldo Cruz (COC/Fiocruz), Marcos José de Araújo Pinheiro, guarantees that the memorial will be a response to those who recognize the institution’s leading role in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and in the development of scientific knowledge. “The Fiocruz Covid-19 Memorial – Science and Health will be an important place to reflect on a period that marked the world, especially Brazil, which had a very high number of fatal victims”, says Pinheiro.
The Fiocruz Covid-19 Memorial will be implemented in campus of Manguinhos, in Rio de Janeiro, in an area measuring 2,503.31 m², adjacent to the Avenida Brasil entrance complex. The location makes the memorial easier to see for those passing in front of the institution. The projects must include solutions for pedestrian flow and consider the proximity of the future memorial to the Fiocruz Museum of Life Reception Center.
