After a popular uprising against a planned shopping mall, it was decided that this singular spot in one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods would be devoted to a public project.

The architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha won the contract and created the Museu Brasileiro da Escultura (“Brazilian Museum of Sculpture”), better known as MUBE. Built between 1986 and 1995, its concrete structure features a simple portico that marks the space over a “invented topography” hosting exhibition halls, an auditorium and a café. A network of walkways connects all the different levels, views and ambiences.

The building itself is probably the most interesting sculpture in its collection; the best way to enjoy it is from the outside, perhaps on a walk down the “architectural promenade” that ends at the Museum of Image and Sound in MUBE’s gardens (splendidly landscaped by Roberto Burle Marx).