TIAFF: Skin of Glass

Once, this glass office building in São Paulo symbolised the optimism of modern Brazil; today, it has been occupied by hundreds of homeless families. Affectionately known as Skin of Glass, it was one of the phenomenal Brazilian designs of the 1960s that inspired the world.
Half a century later, times have changed. This becomes clear when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol, daughter of the building’s architect, sets out to uncover the background and current use of this modernist masterpiece. The documentary reveals the unexpected fate of an ambitious architectural work, exposes acute housing inequality, and portrays the struggle of marginalised communities for their fundamental rights.

The film will be introduced by a lecture by Marianne Loof. Marianne is an architect, urban designer and co-founder of LEVS. She works on urban challenges where housing, transformation and new forms of urbanity intersect. Her work moves between practice and public advisory roles, engaging both design and the broader context of policy, process and quality. As Chief Architect for Rail Infrastructure, she focused on the spatial and architectural quality of stations and rail zones, with an emphasis on future-proofing the Netherlands and making complex challenges practically feasible. Previous public roles in Amsterdam, The Hague, at the BNA and ARCAM provided her with broad insight into spatial quality, decision-making and urban development.