São Paulo is a Latin American industrial conurbation and at the same time the cultural centre of Brazil. The São Paulo International Biennial of Architecture and Design (BIA) was launched in 1973 by the Bienal de São Paulo Foundation to complement the São Paulo Biennial of Art. It is held in the Biennial Pavilion, designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer. Over twenty international exhibits and interesting accompanying events will ensure that this year’s BIA will once more welcome a large number of visitors and be a festival of architecture. The Federal Republic of Germany will be represented by a contribution of its own for the third time.

ECOS Urbanos / Urban Echoes is the overriding topic at the 2009 Biennial. It will focus on how major societal events can be evaluated as a motive force and development stimulus for shaping metropolitan areas and identifying contemporary urban planning concepts. With cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon and Milan having put to good use in the past the impetus provided by world’s fairs, Olympic Games or soccer World Cups, BIA Curator-General Bruno Roberto Padovano specified four main aspects on which contributions to the 8th BIA were to focus.

These four central issues are spatiality (espacialidade), connectivity (conectividade), originality (originalidade) and sustainability (sustentabilidade), or ECOS. In preparation for the 2014 football World Cup in Brazil, the BIA aims to provide suggestions and to discuss with international guests and players from Brazil the risks and opportunities of large-scale events and the current tasks facing architecture and development in an urban context.