Ciro Miguel: Architecture, Photography, and the Everyday

Brazilian architect and photographer Ciro Miguel, based in Zurich for seven years, discusses his practice that merges architecture and photography. Trained at FAU USP in São Paulo, with a master's from Columbia University and apprenticeships with Bernard Tschumi and Angelo Bucci, Miguel uses photography as a method to investigate architectural and urban themes. His work explores the tension between artificiality and nature, focusing on spatial discontinuities and material contrasts. He co-curated the 2019 São Paulo Architecture Biennial titled 'Todo Dia/Everyday' with Vanessa Grossman and Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, which examined the everyday and domestic in architecture. The exhibition was inspired by microhistory as per Carlo Ginzburg. Miguel's photographic series often highlight political issues such as right to the city, class relations, and gender differences. For the exhibition 'Access for All' at the Architekturmuseum in Munich, curated by Daniel Taleskin, Miguel documented how iconic São Paulo buildings like Sesc 24 de Maio and MASP serve as social catalysts. During lockdown, he used binoculars to photograph neighbors from his apartment on Avenida Paulista, capturing a cross-section of Brazilian urban society. His ongoing research at ETH Zurich focuses on architecture and photojournalism. The 'Access for All' exhibition, realized in 2019, will be shown at SAM Basel in 2021.