Maria Carlota de Macedo Soares was born in 1910 in Paris, where her father—who ran one of Rio de Janeiro’s most influential newspapers, Diário Carioca—was exiled. Raised among the elite, Lota arrived in Brazil in 1928 at the age of 18. She was often described as a controversial figure, known for her love of race cars, wearing jeans and men’s shirts, and for her discreet yet enduring relationship with the acclaimed American poet Elizabeth Bishop.
However, none of her achievements became more significant than her pivotal role in the creation of Flamengo Park in the 1950s. This monumental project materialized Lota’s genuine concern for public space in Brazil and her relentless pursuit of reconnecting the city with its people.
In a city immersed in exuberant nature, the Flamengo Landfill (Aterro do Flamengo) emerged as one of Rio’s most remarkable man-made landscapes. The so-called “Tropical Central Park” was conceived and managed by Lota de Macedo Soares, who, while leaning over the balcony of then-Governor Carlos Lacerda, overlooking the debris that would later transform into a park, suggested and was entrusted with the task of bringing this vision to life.
The governor had already been impressed by Lota’s talent and determination after visiting her house in Petrópolis, designed by her in collaboration with architect Sergio Bernardes. This residence, known as Casa da Samambaia, was awarded at the São Paulo International Biennial of Architecture in 1951 and was the first residential project in Brazil to use a bold metal structure.
That same daring approach marked the construction of Flamengo Park, where Lota assembled and led a team to bring the urban design by Affonso Eduardo Reidy out of bureaucratic limbo. She convinced him to take on the project, even arranging for a temporary shelter at the construction site so he could personally oversee the work, since the architect had strongly refused to work for the city government again.
As the visionary and coordinator of the project, Lota gathered a team of leading professionals, including Affonso Reidy (urban planning), Roberto Burle Marx (landscape design), Luiz de Mello Filho (botany), Jorge Machado Moreira and Hélio Mamede (architecture), and Bertha Leitchic (engineering). A contemporary of Carmen Portinho, Leitchic and Portinho had co-founded the Brazilian Association of Women Engineers and Architects in 1937.
Lota was self-taught, considering architecture her true passion. She had an extensive library at home and kept up with contemporary debates in architecture, art, and urbanism, engaging with influential thinkers such as Le Corbusier and Jane Jacobs, whose book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) had a significant impact on her views. Inspired by Jacobs, she reoriented the Flamengo Park project with remarkable clarity and sensitivity, as reflected in her article published in the Revista de Engenharia do Estado da Guanabara in 1964. In this text, Lota expressed strong criticism of car-dominated urban spaces and advocated for public spaces that prioritized people over machines. She envisioned Flamengo Park as a way to return the city to its citizens, fostering a more human-centered and less mechanized urban experience.
In today’s world, where so little thought is given to the individual, to the human being of flesh and bone [...] it seems that the Flamengo Landfill, as conceived by the Working Group, is an urgent and unprecedented project: it cares as much for the beauty and conservation of the landscape as it does for its usefulness, placing human needs ahead of the demands of machines, daring to offer pedestrians—the pariahs of modern times—their share of peace and leisure.
The Flamengo Park project brought Lota both immense joy and deep anguish, consuming her physical and emotional energy over more than five years of relentless work. However, after Carlos Lacerda left office and Negrão de Lima was elected governor in 1965, Lota was removed from the project. This led her into a deep depression, and she spent almost three months hospitalized. Her suffering culminated in September 1967, when she took her own life while on a trip to New York at the age of 57.
Despite her early and tragic departure, Lota de Macedo Soares left an indelible mark on the landscape and history of Rio de Janeiro. A visionary ahead of her time, she was responsible for one of Brazil’s grandest public works—yet, to this day, her contributions remain largely underrecognized, with much of the credit for Flamengo Park often attributed to Roberto Burle Marx.
Nevertheless, history is now being reclaimed and retold to recognize that Flamengo Park was the idea and creation of a strong, determined woman who embodied an avant-garde vision of urbanism—one rooted in historical awareness, environmental consciousness, and aesthetic sensitivity.
Reference: RISÉRIO, André. Mulher, casa e cidade. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2015.
