The cycle Meeting with Research It reaches its third edition in 2026 with the lecture History of gardens in Brazil: spaces for cultivation, art and experience.. The initiative of the Museu Paulista at USP proposes a reflection on the history of gardens in Brazil based on the connection between cultivation, art, and lived experience.
Aline de Figueirôa Silva's presentation addresses the introduction and circulation of plants in Brazilian territory, understood as fundamental elements in the transformation of urban spaces into gardens. From this point, the constitution of landscaped areas is discussed as a simultaneous expression of utility and aesthetic pursuit, evidenced in the built elements, furniture, and forms of ornamentation that configure these environments over time.
By exploring gardens as living spaces, the lecture highlights the different ways in which these places are socially appropriated, associated with daily practices, affective experiences, and collective memories. The approach thus proposes understanding squares and gardens not only as physical spaces, but as territories of sociability, marked by diverse uses and meanings that span different historical periods.
This reflection also engages with contemporary issues in landscape architecture in Brazil, including debates about the presence of exotic and native species, as well as the challenges related to the conservation and abandonment of these spaces. In this context, the work of Roberto Burle Marx is used as a reference to consider the current state of landscape practices and their cultural and environmental implications.
Starting from common experiences, such as frequenting, playing, or interacting in squares and gardens, the lecture brings the audience closer to the topic and expands the possibilities for discussion, connecting individual trajectories to the historical transformations of these spaces in Brazilian society.
Aline de Figueirôa Silva She is an architect and urban planner, with a degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), a master's degree in Urban Development from the same institution, and a doctorate in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of São Paulo (USP), in the area of Landscape and Environment. She completed a doctoral internship as a Junior Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Museu Paulista of USP (2024 – 2025).
She is a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and in the Postgraduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism at the same institution. Her career includes research on landscape architecture in Brazil, with a focus on studies of historical gardens and the work of Burle Marx, as well as participation in garden preservation and restoration projects. She is the author of... Gardens of Recife: a history of landscape design in Brazil, 1872-1937 (2010) and co-organizer of Burle Marx's gardens in Northeast Brazil (2013), among other publications and academic and institutional activities.
This meeting is part of the second year of the cycle. Meeting with Research, which promotes regular meetings between researchers and the public, sharing research developed from the collections of the Museu Paulista at USP and reflecting on the role of research in the construction of historical narratives.
In-person lecture
Date: April 25, 2026 (Saturday)
Time: 2 PM
Workload: 4h
Job openings: 200
Location: Auditorium of the Ipiranga Museum
Accessibility: Pounds
Free registration: until 25/4 in this link
