Pampulha

When you fly from Salvador to Belo Horizonte as I did, it looks like you have arrived in a different country: ‘White’ Brazil. A prime example is the suburb of Pampulha, created as a Garden City to attract the wealthy. I stayed overnight right at the lake in the Pampulha Design Hotel.

To get around there is a system of Community Bike Rentals for only 6 R$ a day, but I could not get it to work online. So I did the full loop around Pampulha Lake on foot: it’s 18.3 km. Along the way, I encountered many commercial bicycle rental shops, so in hindsight that would be a good option to cover the distances.

From my hotel, I walked clockwise, with the Art Museum (pictured) as the first of the four main monuments on my route. This former Casino has been closed for renovations since 2019. It is fenced off and it didn’t look like it will reopen soon. Its close following of the Corbusian principles is visible in its reinforced concrete pylons supporting the main rooms. It is set in landscaped gardens that barely are hanging in there.

Walking onward, I enjoyed the many views towards the other side of the lake. A footpath (also part of the core zone) fully encircles the lake. More recently a separate bike path has been added too. Some red information panels (with the WH logo) can be found that explain minor elements – a kiosk that once was …

The brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, where this WHS is located, is a new city: it was founded in 1897. In its older area the eclectic and neoclassical buildings are mixed with the modern ones, some of them works of the architect Oscar Niemeyer, like the residential tower that has his name in Liberdade Square. This area (districts of Savassi, Lourdes, Boa Viagem) is where most of the hotels are concetrated, and I agree it's the best area for a tourist to stay. The Pampulha district is located a bit further, it was added to the city in the 1940's, and despite having the most famous tourist attraction of the city, that is the lake and its Niemeyer buildings, it's mostly a residential zone. It has a different atmosphere than the rest of the city: calm streets, calm traffic, and is all about the modern, but not in a monumental way, except for the two concrete stadiums, Mineirão and Mineirinho, that can be seen from the lake and are, in my opinion, disturbances in the landscape of this site.

The lake isn't small, and the four buildings inscribed in this WHS are not very close to each other. If you are in a good physical condition or have a lot of free time you can visit all four by foot, because walking on the shores of the lake is quite pleasant. I didn't have both, so I just visited two buildings, the church and the ballroom. The yacht club …

I really hope this site makes it onto the world heritage list. It is an impressive and influential piece of urban planning, but it is elevated to being outstanding by the magnificent church of São Francisco.

Pamphula is an affluent planned suburb in northern Belo Horizonte, set around a man made lake. The usual array of Brazilian modernist architects, artists and designers were involved with the main buildings coming from Oscar Niemeyer. There are some really quite impressive buildings circling the lake, a forum discussion a few years ago first drew my attention to the Yacht Club. I was instantly drawn to this beautiful piece of modern design. In the intervening years I have grown to realise that this mid century modernism is actually my real architectural sweet spot, and it has enhanced many of my trips, and even my life in London.

On a glorious Saturday morning we joined many of the locals in making the lake shore the basis of our leisure activities. First stop was the recently restored Casa Juliano Kubitzek, built for the then regional governor, future president and long time patron of Oscar Niemeyer. It turns out this was an excellent place to start, not just because it is a beautiful house, but also because it's home to a small museum that explains and contextualises the whole area and the relationship Kubitzek had with a generation of modernist artists.

From here it was a pleasant stroll to the church of São Francisco. This …

Pampulha Architectural Ensemble is Brazil probably Brazil's next nomination for inscription in WHS list. Pampulha is the name of a upper-class suburb of Belo Horizonte city and was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a famous architect (who died in 2012 at 104), also responsible for the construction of Brasilia (another WHS). The most famous elemento of Pampulha ensemble is Sao Francisco Church, a tiny temple by the lake shore, which is considered one of Niemeyer's early masterpieces and inspiration for many other buildings in the same style worldwide. I was there last weekend, in a sunny and relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Should Pampulha be inscribed, Belo Horizonte is to become the closest Brazil will have to a WHS hotspot, also including the colonial cities of Congonhas, Ouro Preto and Diamantina.