(b Uberlândia, 1930). Brazilian architect. He graduated from the National School of Architecture in Rio de Janeiro in 1954 and then began to practise in Manaus; he also established an office in Rio de Janeiro, directed by Mário Emilio Ribeiro, to organize details for which there were no facilities in Manaus. To design, construct and supervise building work in the interior of the Amazon region is extremely difficult: only bricks and newly felled green timber from the forest are available there; all other materials have to be transported by boat from Manaus, which may take months. In these conditions Porto achieved a style of architecture of great strength and originality, adapted to the region through careful study of the indigenous inhabitants, climatic conditions and the appropriate use of local technology and materials. Of the buildings he constructed in the middle of the forest, perhaps the best known is the small tourist hotel (1979–83) on the island of Silves, which was awarded a prize by the Institute of Architects of Rio de Janeiro. Built entirely in the local hardwoods and roofed with rough wood chips, its circular form is an interpretation of the indigenous Indian hut. In earlier, conventional projects in Manaus, such as the offices of the Superintendência da Zona Franca (1967), the use of reinforced concrete is adapted to the hot, damp climate: large truncated pyramids 15 m square allow hot air to escape naturally by the roof. At the University of the Amazons (1973) in Manaus, where the buildings were placed at the highest point of the site to catch the prevailing winds, an insulating double-roof structure allows the free circulation of hot air. In other works he used vaulted roofs with reinforced ceramic, such as the School of Music at Fortaleza and the Legislative Assembly building at Porto Velho. His work received international recognition with an award at the Biennale at Buenos Aires in 1985.

• Porto, Severiano (Mário Vieira de Magalhães)
  • Brazil, §IV, 2(iii): Architecture, after 1960