Museu Brasileiro de Escultura e Ecologia in São Paulo, Brazil by Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Born out of a campaign by the wealthy residents of São Paulo’s Jardins district to prevent the construction of a new shopping mall, the majority of the MuBE was pushed underground to maximise the public space above. Wide steps in the large plaza lead down to the museum’s entrance, crossed by a monolithic concrete ‘table’ that hangs above the site. While the vast cave-like galleries sit below ground, pockets of space above feature gardens designed by Roberto Burle Marx peppered with sculptures.