GUSTAVO PENNA ARQUITETOS ASSOCIADOS, BRAZIL
Brumadinho Memorial is a space dedicated to symbolic redemption and the memory of the 272 people who died when Córrego do Feijão mine dam collapsed in Brumadinho in the state of Minas Gerais in south-east Brazil on 25th January 2019, affecting 26 municipalities and releasing 12 million cubic metres of mining waste.
Opened in 2025, the memorial features an entrance pavilion, a grove, outdoor congregation areas, paths leading to a sculptural monument, a reflective pool, exhibition rooms dedicated to memory and testimony, and a space devoted to the preservation of the victims' remains.
The architectural project designed by the Brazilian firm Gustavo Penna Arquitetos Associados (GPAA) creates a symbolic and deeply humbling journey that begins with the entrance pavilion made of exposed concrete mixed with red earth and incorporating metal debris salvaged from the rubble. Its angular and fragmented forms evoke the shock of the dam collapse, while beams of light penetrate the cracks. Every year at 12:28 on 25th January, the exact time when the tragedy happened, a collection of crystals is lit up in tribute to the "jewels," as the families call their loved ones.
The
so-called fissure, a 230-metre gap in the ground, then leads visitors into the
epicentre of the disaster. The walls display the names of the victims, set one
by one along the path. A suspended sculpture in the middle known as the
"weeping head" sheds tears onto the concrete and channels the water,
a symbol of memory and purification, into the reflective pool alongside the
viewing platform. A grove of 272 yellow ipês, a symbol of Brazil and an example
of resilience, blossom around it as a sign of life and continuity.
The lighting design project developed by the Brazilian firm Atiaîa – winner of the 2025 Architectural Lighting Design Award – creates an immersive, respectful and introspective atmosphere. It reinforces the message conveyed by the architecture and highlights its key symbols. The lighting was designed to create an immersive, delicate and respectful atmosphere, conveying information, brightness and presence, while honouring the memory of the victims.
Each appliance was designed to connect visitors to the impact of what happened working along symbolic and discreet lines. It helps arrange the overall layout and experience of the Memorial, creating layers of light and illuminated planes, showcasing selected features and symbols, and defining zones of light/shadow and levels of brightness/contrasts more or less perceivable in each space, all according to what they represent, protect and display.
Client: AVABRUM (Association ofFamilies of Victims and Those Affected by the Collapse of the Córrego do Feijão Mine Dam); Architects and Interior Design: Gustavo Penna Arquitetos Associados; Lighting Design: Atiaîa Lighting Design (Mariana Novaes/principal; Pedro Ferreira, Bárbara de Oliveira, Elisa Campos - collaborators); Project Manager: Olhar 360 Projetos; Landscape: Medra Paisagismo; Signage: Greco; Exhibition design project for the Memory and Testimony Spaces: Júlia Peregrino; Lighting of the exhibition design for the Memory and Testimony Spaces: Cesar de Ramires; Installation of quartz crystals with fiber optics: Demian Quincke; Suppliers: Arte em Cena, Fasa Fibra Ótica, Interlight, Lemca, Lightsource, Lumicenter, Luxion, O/M Light; Photographers: Jomar Bragança, Leo Drumond, Pedro Mascaro.
