Surrounded by history and pomp, Guinle Park is more than just a leisure area.
Right at the entrance, in front of the monumental doorway, two chubby childlike figures that seem about to fall from their mounts catch our attention. The pieces are reproductions of the work of Louis Lerambert, existing in the Garden of Versailles, France. They are marble sphinxes on which a little cast iron angel sits.
Guinle Park was originally a farm acquired by Dr. Eduardo Guinle to build his residence. Today the Guinle mansion is known as Palácio das Laranjeiras, the official residence of the governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Park, located at the end of Rua Gago Coutinho, has an entrance through a beautiful gate that gives access to an area of 24,750 m2 where you can see a small lake, boulevards, lawns, trees and tropical plants.
Originally, the park area constituted the gardens of the mansion of Eduardo Guinle (1846-1914), built in the 1920s. They were designed by the French landscaper Gérard Cochet, and later received some specific interventions by Roberto Burle Marx.
The park's facilities include the first set of residential buildings aimed at Rio's elite. Designed by architect Lucio Costa and built between 1948 and 1954, they are characterized by the features of a modern architecture full of Brazilianness, integrating the building with the environment. The Garden was redone on that occasion by Burle Marx. Both Burle Marx and Lucio Costa received strong influences from Modernism and it is possible to observe this particularity in the compositions displayed in the park.
Lucio Costa's original project included six buildings arranged radially around the park, of which only three were built. The complex was later completed by a building belonging to the MMM Roberto office.
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