Episode 57: Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima
The time was December 5th, 1934, the place Tokyo, Japan. Mayumi Watanabe was born. When Mayumi was four her parents relocated the family to Brazil. At the age of 22 Mayumi became a Brazilian citizen and started attending the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo. While there she interned with Lina Bo Bardi and João Batista Vilanova Artigas. Mayumi graduated with a degree from the school of Architecture in 1960 and then went on to get a Masters from the University of Brasilia in History and Philosophy of Education. During this time she married her college sweetheart Sérgio Souza Lima and worked with the architect João Filgueiras Lima.
Afterwards, she began teaching at the University, yet when the government began persecuting professors she left. Still, her interest in education did not leave her. She focused on the institution of teaching itself in many different facets from planning through construction. Throughout her career she was the Planning Director of the State Fund for School Buildings, Superintendent of Architecture Works at the Center for Studies and Research of the Municipal Administration for the Expansion and Improvement of Teaching Program with the federal government. There she was able to develop programs and projects for all of Brazil and she collaborated in creating the Brazilian Center for School Constructions. She was also Director of the Center for the Development of Urban and Community Equipment in the city of São Paulo. She wrote books about the relationships between children and their educational spaces.
For most of career her main goal was to enhance the relationship between space and the inhabitants of that space. Mayumi passed away in 1994, an archive of her work can be found in the Perseo Abramo Foundation in São Paulo.
Caryatid: Janis Brackett
Janis Brackett is the Director of Community Projects at Kirksey Architecture, in this position she oversees Religious, Recreation, Cultural/Civic, and Non-Profit projects. And she is passionate about collaboration in the design process. She works with boards, committees and volunteer groups because she knows the importance everyone has in creating a meaningful space. Janis has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Kansas. She was the AIA Houston President for three years, and was elected to AIA National’s “think tank” as 2017-2018 Strategic Councilor At Large. She has also been a part of the City of Houston/AIA Houston 2020 Visions Steering Committee, Chair of Gulf Coast Green, and Editorial Committee for GreenWorks Houston. And above all she finds time to be a mentor to those coming up in the field with the passion for participation and change that she has.
References
“Arquitetas Invisiveis.” arquitetasinvisiveis, 2015, www.arquitetasinvisiveis.com/en-mayumi-souza-lima.
Breyton Silva, Ugo. “Tensões entre teoria e prática: movimentações de Mayumi de Souza Lima no período da redemocratização.” ArchDaily, 23 May 2021, www.archdaily.com.br/br/tag/mayumi-souza-lima.
Conte, Mariana. “Mulheres na arquitetura: a importância de Mayumi Souza Lima.” CASA CLAUDIA, 20 July 2017, casaclaudia.abril.com.br/arquitetura/mulheres-na-arquitetura-a-importancia-de-mayumi-souza-lima.
“Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima.” Wikipedia, 2 July 2022, pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayumi_Watanabe_de_Souza_Lima.
Ojeda, Gueni. “Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima 1934–1994.” un día | una arquitecta, 28 June 2015, undiaunaarquitecta.wordpress.com/2015/06/28/mayumi-watanabe-de-souza-lima-1934-1994.
Images
Ojeda, Gueni. Un dia una arquitecta, 28 Jun 2015 https://undiaunaarquitecta.wordpress.com/2015/06/28/mayumi-watanabe-de-souza-lima-1934-1994/
Conte, Mariana. Casa Claudia, 19 Jul 2017, https://casaclaudia.abril.com.br/arquitetura/mulheres-na-arquitetura-a-importancia-de-mayumi-souza-lima/
Zanella, Rock. Revista Habitare, 25 Jan 2017, https://www.revistahabitare.com.br/arquitetura/mayumi-watanabe/
