Arquitetura industrial na obra de Gregório Zolko: cinco casos de estudo

Born in São Paulo on March 23, 1932, the architect Gregório Zolko has a vast production linked to São Paulo's modernity. Graduated from the University of Illinois, in the United States of America, his practice as an architect was notable for some works that became well known inside and outside Brazil, such as the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul - the Farroupilha Palace, in Porto Alegre, (1967) or the Associated Broadcasters Building in São Paulo (1959). His office, called Constructa Planning & Architecture Ltd., was founded in 1962 with his partner Wolfgang Schoedon. In 65 years of activity, Zolko has worked with the most diverse architectural typologies: residential and commercial buildings, interior designs, renovations and industrial buildings. With a total of 147 cataloged works, there are a significant number of buildings with great architectural interest that are not properly studied yet. Within this group of examples, which are not considered as prominent from the point of view of dissemination through publications and academic studies and can be called as the “Side B” of architect’s production, those that are factories and industries are especially interesting. The purpose of this article is to shed light on this cut in the architect's work, focusing on the analysis of five concrete cases: The Amortex Factory (Sao Paulo, 1972), The Empax Industry (Sao Paulo, 1974), Santaconstancia Weaving Industry (Sao Paulo, 1974), Fundinox Factory (São Paulo, 1974) and Belzer Tool Industries (Guarulhos, 1976). Gregory Zolko's “Side B”, specifically the 44 industrial buildings developed in his office, offer a considerable range of constructive, programmatic and bioclimatic solutions, exemplary for both the type in question and architectures with other programmatic natures.