The Paulista School was an informal group of Brazilian architects who formed in the 1950s. As opposed to the smoother curvy surfaces of the Rio (Carioca) School typified by Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...

, the Paulista work embraced exposed concrete structures, chunkier massing, and rougher finishes.

The two primary figures associated with the Paulista School are the Pritzker Prize

Pritzker Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...

-winner Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Paulo Mendes da Rocha is a Brazilian architect, honored with the Mies van der Rohe Prize and the Pritzker Prize .Paulo attended the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie College of Architecture, graduating in 1954...

 and João Batista Vilanova Artigas

João Batista Vilanova Artigas

João Batista Vilanova Artigas was one of the most important Brazilian modernist architects. Born in Curitiba and much-awarded in his lifetime, Artigas is considered one of the most important names in the architectural history of São Paulo, and the founding figure of the Paulista School.- Life...

; other figures include Joaquim Guedes

Joaquim Guedes

Joaquim Manoel Guedes Sobrinho, was a Brazilian architect and urban planner. Praised as one of the most important architects of his generation, he was known for rejecting formalism in favor of an architecture that responds to the needs of everyday life...

and Oswaldo Bratke.