Art and Culture

Cultural, architectural and social rescue

Armazém Rita Maria is a place of cultural rescue that opens up in space-time to contemporary art.

A place that carries more than a century of cultural memory needs to serve as fertile foil for the creation of new ideas. Only this way, its history can be honored by new generations, from the moment they are invited to create a real bond with this revitalized space. This is the mission of Hoepcke Group, when telling the valuable history of the family through the building's restoration of the current Armazém Rita Maria.

The tour along the six buildings invites people to know its history. The marks of time can be seen through the masonry, in the openings of the walls, in the wooden structures, steel elements and in the industrial and commercial architecture of the time in which they were built.

Every little piece of the Armazém was designed to expose its memories during the restoration process.

On the other hand, to inspire new winds, artistic and cultural, nothing more stimulating than an art gallery.

 

Reservations available!

 

You, artist, who is interested in exhibiting your artworks at Armazém Rita Maria's Gallery, contact us to book your exhibition.

 

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Learn more about the restoration and history of Armazém Rita Maria

For the important project to revitalize the buildings, Hoepcke Group formed a multidisciplinary team made up of engineers, architects, urban planners, restorers, landscape architects and other professionals. Everything was meticulously planned by this team of specialists with unique and complementary skills. The goal was for the two thousand square meter complex to be able to rescue memories, but also become fertile soil for new dreams.

Throughout the restoration process, each layer of plaster that was removed revealed stories that the structure of the buildings tells. The biggest challenges were the recovery of wooden pieces already deteriorated by time and assembling them with the same architectural typologies of the colonial era. “One of the buildings had a lowered ceiling that, when we removed it, presented us with an incredible surprise: a metal structure brought in at the end of the 19th century from Glasgow, Scotland, and installed in this place where there was a church”, says Jonathan Carvalho, the architect responsible for the restoration.

The intention of the architectural project, according to Jonathan, was to bring the historical setting of these buildings to a contemporary place. Therefore, in addition to exposed bricks and industrial structures, the Carl Hoepcke Institute selected objects to create an expography in all the passages between the buildings, which tells a little about the history of the companies, the family and the functioning of each of the spaces.

One of the objects recovered was the rudder of the Carl Hoepcke ship. The most important of the ships from the Hoepcke National Navigation Company fleet, between 1927 and 1960, provided the most glamorous way of traveling and the contection between Florianópolis and the rest of Brazil. The arrival of the ship Carl Hoepcke at the Rita Maria pier was like a party. Music bands welcomed passengers and curious people who were waiting for the arrival of the most famous ocean liner in southern Brazil. People wore their best clothes to receive travelers, crew, orders and news. With three meters high and forged from solid steel, the rudder weighs approximately two tons. Rescued and completely restored, today it stands in front of Armazém Rita Maria - an emblematic place for the ship.


Railroad trolleys that were used to move the loads between the ships, the safe box of one of the companies, propellers and blades of centenary ships, a crane, mooring posts and even a gate that gave access to the offices and workshops of the Arataca Shipyard are some of the other pieces in exposition throughout the multipurpose complex. A true journey through time in a modern and comfortable space, designed for people, families, pets and their encounters.

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