sedimento/sediment
1.en.Demolition_Interview with Ricardo M., @arqdesterro
Ricardo M., known on social media as @arqdesterro, has become an icon of the anti-demolition struggles of historic heritage in the capital of Santa Catarina State, Florianópolis—formerly Desterro. His records and visual archive, built actively and activistly on social media, trace the recent memory of a city marked by real estate gold rush. In this conversation, Ricardo M. discusses his processes of archiving destruction, the emblematic cases on his hunt, and images of architecture created #antesquedesapareça (#beforeitdisappears).
I'd like us to start by you identifying yourself. It can be however you want, since in your public profile on social media you value anonymity, and this has been part of the relationship you establish with the public.
I'm Ricardo, a law graduate with no formal training in architecture, though I truly enjoy reading about "classical architecture". I also enjoy studying the history of Florianópolis, as I'm not a native [since Florianópolis is an island, often people refer to native instead of only born]. I've lived here since 2011, originally from Gaspar, a city in the interior of the state. And I also enjoy photography.
I'm a civil servant, but my work is mostly done outside the office, mainly in the Centro Leste/Morros do Centro neighborhoods, and occasionally throughout the city. The instagram page is a combination of these factors. The anonymity aspect has become a bit of a meme for the page, mostly because I find the aspiring influencer vibe a bit tacky.
How did your interest in documenting buildings before they disappear begin? And what is your most difficult challenge in this documentation endeavor?
In mid-2022, I decided to create an Instagram account to photograph "random/pseudo-humorous" things I saw around. Around the same time, I don't remember exactly why, I read the book "Florianópolis: Urban Memory" by Eliane Veras da Veiga, and, despite not having a background in architecture, I found it incredibly impactful. What particularly caught my attention was the clash between "development vs. preservation of architectural heritage”, and how so much had already been demolished. I ended up using this Instagram account to document the properties she mentioned in the book and, as I wandered around, other properties I found "beautiful" or historically significant.
I didn't have any grand ambitions or a specific goal.
As time went by, I ended up revisiting streets I had already passed through. And, by doing it, I saw how the process of “development” [in terms of turban transformation and real estate development] was still going strong, and how little of the architectural heritage remained, notably the cute little houses hidden in the neighborhoods, were continuously destroyed. This ended up becoming the “theme” of the page.
It's a real challenge; but I don't know if I have one.,specifically. I realize it's getting harder and harder to find houses I haven't photographed. Also, sometimes people [my followers] get mad that I photographed and posted a photo of their house "without permission."
Do you have a specific method and/or motivation for this process? Examples: mapping, hiking, people who inform you, etc.
The motivation is to register these properties. Because, with each passing day, it seems like the city has grown so much and so fast that everything will be pasteurized, and nothing will be left to tell the city's story. As the instagram page evolves, perhaps it will draw attention to this disorderly growth and real estate speculation.
It's precisely the photographs of small houses that aren't as architecturally significant, but evoke a certain nostalgia of grandma's house, that seem to resonate most with people when they're demolished. And since my job involves walking and driving around the city, the photographs tend to happen organically. But people send me countless old photos and tips on cool properties or properties that have recently been demolished.
So it is an urban activism process together with a cool hunting… And is there any type of architecture, whether due to its language, period or program, that attracts you more to document, or has it disappeared more frequently?
Certainly, the neighborhood houses that I randomly come across, I believe that most of them are from the 70s/80s, which, precisely because they are never listed, are the ones that are most demolished.
And how do you think social media impacts what you're doing, and vice versa? Do you think of the hashtag #antesquedesapareça and the @arqdesterro profile as a form of activism or a tool?
It does have an impact. Initially, the page's audience was primarily "architecture academics." But with the growth and influx of new followers, today most of the people engaging with posts are people not connected to architecture who, in general, notice and lament the demolitions. At first, it was simply a personal study tool. Today, I think you could call it a form of activism, precisely as a way to draw attention to this process, which seems inescapable.
Have any of these documentation efforts resonated beyond social media? For example, it became a reason to keep a building standing, etc.
Specifically, to the point of keeping something standing or being renovated, I don't think so. At most, perhaps, to give visibility to some more emblematic demolition, which might otherwise have gone unnoticed/underreported by “traditional media.” This is the case with Carl Hoepcke's house on Trompowsky Avenue.
For sure, that case had more impact because it involved a landmark building connected to Florianópolis’ elites. So, in this case, do you relate your documentation practice to the changes in the landscape of Brazilian cities, especially in relation to the expansion of real estate capital?
Yes, certainly. Real estate speculation, in Florianópolis at least, is the driving force behind this movement.
From your travels around the city, is there a specific case of demolition and recording that you'd like to comment on? Is there a building with a story or emotional connection that resonated with you or that your readers/followers engaged with in a deeper way?
Personally, I liked a house on Monsenhor Topp Street, behind the Imperatriz supermarket on Mauro Ramos Avenue. I spent years walking past it every week and thought it was impressive. I always noticed an old lady who lived there and meticulously tended the garden. After a while, I didn't see the old lady anymore. The weeds began to take over, and a few months later, it was demolished and turned into a parking lot.
From the perspective of followers' “outcry,” definitely businessman Carl Hoepcke's house, on Trompowsky Avenue, as I mentionned. To this day, it's one of the most viewed and commented posts on the page. And it all happened very quickly. I think the City Hall authorized the demolition on Friday, and by Saturday morning, two backhoes were already there tearing it down. Supposedly, if I'm not mistaken, Anita Hoepcke [his heir] tried twice to get the house listed with the City, but was denied.
The Clinipar [a famous pediatric medical clinic], right there on Mauro Ramos, also caused outrage. It already has demolition authorization from the city, and I think it hasn't been torn down yet because it was taken to court. The Public Prosecutor's Office, if I'm not mistaken, filed a civil lawsuit or something like that. There was a lot of outrage over the inevitable demolition.
Arqdesterro continues its wanderings through the city, recording the residues of an inconvenient past for the forces of real estate speculation. Florianópolis and the north-central coast of Santa Catarina are among the areas with the highest concentration of income and with the most expensive square meter in the country, attracting media spotlights and financial capital engines, as in Balneário Camboriú. Contrary to cities such as Barcelona and Lisbon, the city of Florianópolis signed a data cooperation contract with Airbnb for urban and touristic development. The almost silent decision caused controversy of reception and should drastically impact the infrastructure and housing in the face of speculative tourism. Apparently, the demolition should continue