ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between scientific knowledge and notions of progress in Brazil from the 1930s to the 1960s. It focuses on the convergence of the Escola Nova movement and Modern Architecture Elementary Schools and explores how these discourses and architectural projects were influenced by the idea that incorporating scientific knowledge in education, city planning, and architecture would help Brazil overcome its perceived backwardness compared to the United States and Europe. The chapter analyzes the Manifesto dos Pioneiros da Educação Nova and the works of Lourenço Filho and Anísio Teixeira, who traveled to the USA to improve their training. It also examines two sources of architectural references: the catalogs of architectural exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, which featured Brazilian Elementary Schools, and the book “Architecture of Social Concern in Regions of Mild Climate” (1948) by the American architect Richard Neutra, specifically in its approach to school architecture. The chapter highlights the fruitful exchange between Brazilian and North American educators and architects, including Lourenço Filho’s participation in the American Educational Research Association and Anísio Teixeira’s collaboration with Hélio Duarte in São Paulo.
