Apartment tower being prepared for repairs, Pinheiros

Walked down to the Faria Lima metro station today, to go up to Consolacao – named for the cemetery – for its lighting shops. I’m collecting images of Sao Paulo’s towers, struck by the variations on the ferro-concrete box which I discover. It’s starting to become a habit, perhaps an obsession … staring up at the buildings, or worse, photographing them, I get strange looks. Don’t mind, when the visual environment above street level is so rich. The netting they use during refurbishment puts me in mind of the ‘wrapping’ works of visual artist Christo.

Heaven knows the facades can look blank – any colour welcome! Consolacao.

Three more variations on ways to disguise the box mentioned before ….

Exuberant tiling, and no windows, on this facade, Concolacao

Random air conditioning, with open windows and angled facade, Consolacao

Departing from the strictly rectangular, near Faria Lima

Much of the build at Consolacao is post-1945. Sometimes individuality is asserted in a very low key way …

Owners probably of Japanese origin, graffiti script in distinctive Sao Paulo style

…and sometimes it’s right up front.

Lighting retailer, Rua da Consolacao

The area has good examples of both residential and commercial architecture.

Feature timepiece, and sliding shutters

Some buildings ARE in dire need of disguise, but some are gems.

A tattoo-like graphic to hide the skeleton under the concrete  skin.

How can I resist looking up? Keeping one eye on the traffic …

Elegance meets Brutalism

More on Sao Paulo skyscrapers and other Brasilian architecture at

http://theproverbial.org/2012/07/18/sao-paulo-skyscrapers/

http://theproverbial.org/2012/07/22/more-sampa-skyscrapers/

http://brasilart.org/2012/07/19/trophy-towers/

http://theproverbial.org/2012/06/21/reading-compulsive-architecture/