Viviane Faver
The second-largest favela in São Paulo, Paraisópolis has close to 100,000 residents – including Estevão Silva Conceição, known as the Brazilian Gaudi for his unique architectural stylings.
The Gaudi Foundation was so impressed with the Casa de Pedra that they flew Estevado to Barcelona so that he could see the works of the artist he admired in person.
Estevão also created a cow for the International Cow Parade. His work, Cowdi, got auctioned off for charity, bringing in R$ 31 thousand Reais.
In 2019, Conceição’s house was part of a project called Circuito Paraisópolis das Artes – an artistic tour of Paraisópolis that also included the Ballet Paraisópolis, Biblioteca BECEI (BECEI Library) and Casa de PET, a house constructed from green plastic PET bottles by Sr. Antenor, another artist from the community.
Although Estevão Silva da Conceição’s creation draws an immediate comparison to one by Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, he had never heard of Gaudi nor seen any photos of his work before building his own home here.
Estevão built his house that mirrors parts of Gaudi’s famous Park Guell in Barcelona, without dreaming that someone else so far away had his exact style a century earlier.
The Casa de Pedra – House of Stone – is built of stone but with walls decorated with every imaginable discarded object, from plates, cups, statues, bicycles, and ceramic pieces to old telephones. The decorations include ashtrays from hotels in Brazil and worldwide, mugs from regional festivals, and antique toys.
A warren of stairways and tiny corridors leads to a roof garden at the top of the house. I climbed the last ladder with difficulty, about eight feet up, and found it so tight that I had to pass my gear first and then squeeze myself through. Nevertheless, the reward came in the form of a beautiful overview of the neighborhood of Paraisopolis, home to more than 80 thousand people.
Photographing inside the stone house was a different adventure. I could not take much equipment because everything was tight, and I sometimes felt insecure when climbing inside. I had the feeling that at any time I could break through the framework even though the structure is secure.
Estevado’s Casa de Pedra
Estevão started his creative journey in 1985 when the family wanted to preserve a rose tree. He cemented the tree with artifacts and never looked back. While he does create art for sale, his primary masterpiece is the Casa de Pedra.
From the outside, the house looks like something out of a dream—a cement structure with objects haphazardly attached to it. The inside is the same.
Walking hunched low through tunnels in the house, one experiences Estevão’s commitment to his inspiration; there are no straight walls in his creation. Each corner turned reveals another viewpoint of various random items: cellphones, religious artifacts, a typewriter, cups, and saucers. Climbing between floors involves using an assortment of found objects, such as a swimming pool ladder, while holding onto whatever is cemented on the wall.
As we climbed through tunnels, we eventually reached the roof, offering breathtaking views of the rooftops of Paraisópolis. Estevão has fashioned a roof terrace like no other, with plants bedded into assorted containers, further adorned. There seems to be an ethos of excess, as evidenced by the enshrinement of a few bicycles. Sitting on a rooftop bicycle in a São Paulo favela becomes an extraordinary experience.
What Does It All Mean?
Even now, weeks later, I still find describing (and understanding) Estevão’s work difficult. The house reminds me of the larger city of Sao Paulo – crowded, attractive in unexpected ways, and yet loved.
The house serves as a symbol of consumerism in this day and age. Countless cheap items are mass-produced, enjoyed briefly, and then discarded for the next thing that catches the eye. In Estevão’s house, these items are enshrined—a testimony to life in the late 20th Century.
Estevão is now retired from gardening, and he has no plans to expand his house any further, as he has promised his wife. Instead, he intends to spend his time filling any uncovered space in the house. Although I was hard-pressed to find such space myself, I am confident that Estevão knows every square inch of his house.
