“Pândegos, rábulas, gamelas”

conflicts in the formation of engineering and architecture as professional fields in São Paulo, 1890-1960

Abstract

This article analyzes the formation of the professional field of engineers and architects in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Major agents in both public and private construction industry, the so-called non-graduated builders not only remained active after professional regulation in 1933, but also have an important participation in the formation of the labor market and professional prestige of engineering and architecture, two of the most important professions of contemporary society. However, due to their gradual exclusion from the professional field and the oblivion of historiographical narratives, these constructors are still taken as “minor characters” in the history of architecture and urbanism. However, from the quantity and quality of their work, their personal and professional trajectories reveal a city produced by multiple individuals, groups, nationalities and building knowledge and practices. Thus, more than the narrative of professional exclusion, this paper highlights the historicity of the training of the professional fields of engineers and architects, showing, from the analysis of the laws, the conflicts for the control of the professional field.