A obra de Burle Marx em Teresina: estudo de projeto paisagístico do Rio Poty hotel. 1980

In the year that celebrates the centenary of Roberto Burle Marx’s birth, Brazilian plastic artist and landscape gardener that was born in São Paulo on August 4 of 1909, this work aims to rescue and publish one of his projects performed in the city of Teresina, State capital of Piauí, until then, not much widespread in congresses and publications that deal with this issue. In Teresina, there are three projects signed by Burle Marx: the garden of Palácio do Karnak (1972), the gardens of Rio Poty Hotel (1983) and Da Costa e Silva Square. Palácio do Karnak is a construction date to the end of nineteenth century, where, since 1926, works as the Official Seat of the Government of the province, and beyond the garden, it has in its collection of art, records of the landscape gardener as a painter and engravings; Rio Poty Hotel was the first five stars hotel in the capital of Piauí and reference of accommodation and local for events in the 1980s and 1990s; and Da Costa e Silva Square, inaugurated in the 1970s, was an interference in marshy area, near Parnaiba River (former Palha de Arroz Lake), and thus was named in honor of the great poet from Piauí. The object under study is specifically the project of the Rio Poty Hotel’s gardens. This work of architecture, essentially modern, was designed by an architect from the state of pernambuco, Ricardo Roque, between the end of 1970s and early 1980s, and opened in 1983, presenting predominance of horizontal elements, sometimes broken by the structure’s rhythmic composition, modulation of the pillars emphasized in facades, game between filled and empty, use of the apparent concrete and a dynamic volume. Burle Marx had to complete the landscape design of the hotel, as will be seen in this work. Researches were made in personal files of the architect Ricardo Roque to collect information for this project, conducting interviews, getting access to architecture’s and landscaping plants of the hotel, visits to building, recording through photographs the architectural relevant contents of it. In projects for Teresina, Burle Marx used elements characteristic of his works, as the awakening of consciousness through the textures of vegetation and coverings, the variety of species, the floor drawings, and mirrors of water. However, what is clear is a great negligence, since the gardens are quite a lot decharacterized, and have received precarious maintenance and gave been target of vandalism, contributing to the loss of the memory of modern architecture traces in the city. Thus, rescue the landscape created by Burle Marx in Teresina is not permitting the citizens to lose architectural and landscape memories so important socio-culturally.