Pivô holds Visit #2 of the Circuito Lina, a walking program activating Pivô Coaty

Continuing the program of walks and guided visits to the Ladeira da Misericórdia, Pivô, in partnership with the Prefeitura de Salvador, held the second visit of the Circuito Lina on April 29 (Wednesday). The program outlines a path for the reactivation of the Coaty, an architectural complex designed in the 1980s by Lina Bo Bardi and João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé), with the participation of architects Marcelo Ferraz and Marcelo Suzuki.

The visit is open and free of charge and, at this moment, aimed at researchers and individuals interested in urban history, memory, and territory. Registration was carried out through an online form. The number of spots is limited and corresponds to the access conditions and restrictions of the site, due to ongoing works conducted by the Prefeitura de Salvador. Participants, selected on a first-come, first-served basis, received confirmation by email.

Visit #2 took as its starting point the 40+ anniversary celebrations of the Fundação Gregório de Mattos (FGM), a milestone that coincides, not by chance, with the 40 years of the project by Lina Bo Bardi and João Filgueiras Lima (Lelé) for the Ladeira da Misericórdia. For this edition, invited guests included Tânia Scofield, architect and urbanist and president of the Fundação Mário Leal Ferreira (FMLF), and Vagner Rocha, Director of Heritage and Cultural Facilities at the Fundação Gregório de Mattos (FGM).

The meeting addressed the requalification of urban centers through culture, articulating the historical formulation of the requalification plan for Salvador’s Historic Center in the 1980s with the perspectives of managers currently working in the development of cultural and urban policies in the city.

Created in 1986 by the Prefeitura de Salvador, the Fundação Gregório de Mattos (FGM) was established with the mission of formulating and implementing cultural policies for the city, working in heritage preservation, management of cultural facilities, and the promotion of the arts and local memory.

In turn, the Fundação Mário Leal Ferreira (FMLF), originally created in 1989 also by the municipality, is responsible for coordinating and developing urban and architectural plans and projects for Salvador’s main public spaces and facilities, expanding its activities since 2013 with the design and management of urban requalification projects, including in areas of vulnerability.

Through the encounter between these institutions and the narratives surrounding the 1980s requalification plan for Salvador’s Historic Center—brought into the visit through the mediation of professor and researcher Dilton de Almeida (FA-UFBA)—the walk activated the Ladeira da Misericórdia as a field for reflecting on the role of culture in processes of urban transformation, connecting institutional memory, planning, and territory.

The Circuito Lina is a program of walks and guided visits to the Ladeira da Misericórdia from multiple perspectives and experiences. The project initiates the activation process of Pivô Coaty and is part of a broader effort of research and development carried out by Pivô under the title Centro-Vivo: Arquivo e Laboratório de Investigação da Ladeira da Misericórdia, in collaboration with researchers and agents from across the city.

Each walk is led by different guests, who bring their own research focuses and singular relationships with the territory—whether through architecture, urban history, cultural and social practices, memory, or lived experience in the city. Learn more here.

Photos: Gabriel Matos