THE ATLAS OF AVENIDA PAULISTA

THE ATLAS OF AVENIDA PAULISTA The best symbol of the city’s potential is located on the famous Avenida Paulista at a high point in the city, with massive urban sprawl stretching out on both sides below and far beyond it. A massive concrete box wrapped in red, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) seems to levitate a full storey above Avenida Paulista atop ingenious and seemingly fragile concrete pillars. The MASP is the Atlas of São Paulo, shouldering the city’s metaphorical burden. It’s a striking sight. But if you stand directly beneath the hovering geometric behemoth, you’ll see delicate cracks in the concrete. Is the clever construction floating confidently on the potential of São Paulo to become on of the world’s top-tier metropolises? Or will those cracks lengthen and deepen, a metaphor of sorts for the difficulties facing the town?