Design and process in architectural production: João filgueiras lima (lelé) and the centro de tecnologia da rede sarah (ctrs)

This work investigates the production processes of architecture and addresses, in particular, the relationship between the architectural design and the execution of works. The Centro de Tecnologia da Rede Sarah (CTRS) [Technology Center of the Sarah Network], located in the city of Salvador-BA, was selected as the object of study. This center was designed by the architect João da Gama Filgueiras Lima (Lelé) (1932-2014), who oversaw the works from 1992 to 2009. The main objective of this research was to reconstruct the integrated design practices of industrialized construction components, as well as their assembly at the CTRS construction site, highlighting this as a unique experience in the production of architecture in Brazil. For this purpose, we carried out a combination of documentary research in the CTRS archives, interviews with team members, consultation of Filgueiras Limas accounts in relation to work procedures, and bibliographic review. We also created new designs to synthesize and present the information collected from the documentary research. We considered the following buildings: Sarah Salvador Hospital, as it is the construction that gave rise to the CTRS; the CTRS building itself, since it consolidates the use of the construction system; and the headquarters of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) in Salvador, as it is the first project carried out in partnership with other institutions and presents important innovations which were developed and applied in other projects. The first section focuses on the relationships between design and construction in the work of Filgueiras Lima in order to understand how the architects previous experience formed the basis for the creation of the CTRS. The second section describes the execution of the CTRS, on the site of the Sarah Salvador Hospital. It demonstrates how the construction site was transformed into the Technology Center, detailing the stages of design and construction of the CTRS building. The third section presents and analyzes the stages of the building production process undertaken by the CTRS by investigating the design of buildings through the production of drawings - identifying their types, their communicative functions and their use during different phases of the project. It also addresses the manufacture of parts in workshops and assembly at the construction site, discussing the links between design, production of parts and on-site assembly. The fourth section considers the buildings and equipment produced by the CTRS, focusing on the period of parterships. We analyzed the TCU headquarters in Salvador, and identified improvements to the buildings resulting from the surveys carried out by the CTRS. We observed that the development of the drawings in the CTRS took place in tandem with the production in the workshops and with the assembly on the construction site, in a cooperative and complementary manner. The CTRS carried out research in the field of civil construction through the design and construction of buildings, continuously expanding and improving technical solutions. This knowledge was built through the work of a multidisciplinary team, which carried out research by verification and improvement in each project. In summary, the knowledge related to design and building informed and mutually influenced the professional practices applied in the CTRS.