With the Renascença Theatre revitalised, the Municipal Culture Centre completes its refurbishment; see images

The refurbishment of the Lupicínio Rodrigues Municipal Centre for Culture, Art and Leisure, badly hit by the flood of May 2024 in Porto Alegre, is complete. After nine months of works, the official handover will take place next Thursday (24).

The 3,600-square-metre complex includes the Renascença Theatre, the Álvaro Moreyra hall, the Xico Stockinger Free Atelier, the Josué Guimarães Municipal Public Library, an exhibition foyer and rooms where workshops are held. It is a traditional and beloved space for the people of
Porto Alegre.

I was there this week to see the result. The venue is once again in a condition to receive the public — and in better shape than before the flood, which is great news. Carried out by CFL Incorporadora, the refurbishment involved an investment of R$ 3.6 million, under a contribution agreement signed with the city hall, arranged by the Office for Reconstruction and Climate Adaptation and by the Municipal Culture Department. The contribution is compensation from the company for a development carried out in the city (Tauphick Residências, in the Bela Vista neighbourhood).

“Our work was not
limited to repairing the
flood damage. The focus was to
revitalise the structure to
offer the city a
better and more
modern complex”
LUCIANO BOCORNY
CEO of CFL

 

Beyond restoring what the water destroyed (read the details below), the operation included other actions, in particular the
modernisation of the Renascença Theatre.

Opened in 1978, it had no accessibility until now. It now has an appropriate area for wheelchair users, an access
ramp, handrails and seats for larger patrons. The venue also gained state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment, as well as new carpets, seats, curtains (still to be installed) and a complete overhaul of the electrical system, among other improvements.

The library, where people “boiled” during Porto Alegre’s scorching summers, finally received air conditioning units (10 in total). A great win for encouraging reading.

— It was a long-standing demand from the public and from those who work there — highlights Caco Birnfeld, CFL’s head of Marketing.

It is worth remembering that, even before the environmental catastrophe, the cultural complex already had serious structural problems and was crying out for care. Now the challenge is to ensure maintenance.

Renascença Theatre

The restoration works at the Renascença Theatre (one of the worst affected by the flood) covered the stage, auditorium, dressing room and support rooms, with new flooring, painting, electrical installations, sound systems, curtains, carpets, seats and the cleaning and waterproofing of the water tanks.

All 270 original seats in the theatre had to be discarded because of the mud and contamination.

In the basement, where the reservoirs and pumps are, general maintenance was carried out on the building’s infrastructure.

The improvements at the Renascença also involved modernising the sound and lighting desks, plus accessibility, with seats for larger patrons, handrails, an appropriate area for wheelchair users and access ramps. As a result, the theatre’s maximum capacity is now 200 seats, 70 fewer than before.

Xico Stockinger Free Atelier

At the Free Atelier, the floor was restored, the space was painted, the electrical installations were inspected and repaired and air conditioning was installed, in addition to cleaning and decontaminating the environment.

The venue runs 20 regular courses and 12 extra courses, as well as lectures. There are around 400 students.

Josué Guimarães Municipal Public Library

In the library’s basement, which had already suffered from other floods, CFL removed and replaced all the doors and skirting boards, waterproofed the floor, replaced all the electrical wiring, removed the old sanitary installations, repaired windows and carried out general painting.

On the other floors (ground floor, mezzanine and children’s and youth room), painting, electrical inspection, replacement of the
doors, window repairs and installation of automatic blinds for the skylights were carried out.

The space also received ten air conditioning units, a long-standing demand from the public.

Other improvements

The works also included repainting the railings and the entire external façade of the building. The venue’s piano is still to be restored.

Álvaro Moreyra Hall and the exhibition foyer

The Álvaro Moreyra Hall and the exhibition foyer did not require repairs.

By Juliana Bublitz. Full article at the link.