Mirella Mansur May 2026

Her thesis, "Concreto e Sombra: A Percepção Tátil na Arquitetura Moderna Brasileira" (Concrete and Shadow: Tactile Perception in Brazilian Modern Architecture), became a foundational text for her later practice. It argued that Modernism had become too sterile and that architects must reintroduce texture, thermal comfort, and manual craftsmanship to survive the tropical climate. When critics discuss Mirella Mansur , they almost immediately reference her signature style: Tropical Brutalism. Classical Brutalism (think Paul Rudolph or the Smithsons) relies on raw concrete, repetitive angular forms, and a rejection of decorative cladding. Mansur takes this vocabulary and bends it to the will of the jungle.

For students of architecture, she offers a lesson in resistance. She rejects the globalized glass curtain wall in favor of the local, the heavy, and the handmade. As the world faces a climate crisis, the passive cooling and durable strategies of are no longer niche—they are essential. mirella mansur

Mansur’s response is pragmatic. "We are not Scandinavia. We are a developing nation. Concrete is cheap, durable, and can be made locally. The greenest building is the one that never needs repair for 200 years." She advocates for carbon-neutral concrete mixes and uses salvaged aggregate from demolished buildings, but the ethical debate surrounding the material persists. Currently, Mirella Mansur is working on her most ambitious project yet: the Cais do Sertão Museum extension in Recife. This project involves a massive suspended concrete ribbon that will snake over a mangrove swamp without touching the water, allowing the tidal ecosystem to survive beneath it. Her thesis, "Concreto e Sombra: A Percepção Tátil

She pursued her degree at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), where she was heavily influenced by the faculty’s emphasis on "arquitetura enraizada" (rooted architecture). Following her graduation, moved to São Paulo for her master’s degree at the University of São Paulo (FAU-USP). Here, she studied under the tutelage of Artur Freitas, focusing on the phenomenological aspects of space—how buildings feel, not just how they look. Classical Brutalism (think Paul Rudolph or the Smithsons)