Casas de Orates

Abstract

The architecture of mental hospitals adopted in Brazil during the 19th century reveals a search for the modernization. This happened at the same time that architectural program was in progress in Europe and United States, as a result of the concept that mental illness has a pathology and can be medically handled, and, therefore, can define specifically an architectonic space for the activity. The investigation refers to the development of mental hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Porto Alegre, Belém and São Paulo, distinguishing a wide effort unknown until now