From the local to the global, Terra embraces the planet in ecological dimensions, as the common house of all life, human and nonhuman, and addresses land as situated territories, community soils, and grounded politics. Questioning memories through the politics of heritage, the curatorial project frames land as ancestry and future, examining the cultural, artistic, and landscape heritage built by Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian populations as a way of amplifying the field of architecture in the face of contemporary environmental issues. Expanding the exhibition catalogue format, the book unpacks the research and conceptual framework that informed the curatorial project of Terra—exhibited at the Brazilian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia in 2023 and awarded the Golden Lion—through an assemblage of images, texts, maps and archives. The archival material encompasses contributions from the featured participants, including the communities Mbya-Guarani, Tukano, Arawak and Maku, as well as the Alaká Weavers (Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá), and Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká. Providing additional context to the exhibition, the catalogue presents an extended interview with the curators and a series of commissioned short essays on the subject of terra, or the earth.

Gabriela de Matos graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of PUC Minas and continued her studies in sustainability and management of the built environment at Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She is a graduate student at Diversitas - Center for the Study of Diversities, Intolerances and Conflicts at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (FFLCH - USP). De Matos investigates structural racism—and its implications in urban planning—and architecture produced in Africa and its diaspora, focusing on Brazil. She proposes actions that can promote the debate on gender and race in architecture as a way of giving visibility to the issue. She is the founder of the Arquitetas Negras project, which maps the production of Black Brazilian women architects, and is the publisher of the magazine Arquitetas Negras vol.1, that won the IAB-sp award for best architecture publication. She directs the architecture studio Gabriela de Matos, founded in 2014, and was awarded Architect of the Year 2020 by IAB-rj. She was cocurator of the Brazilian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia (2023), alongside Paulo Tavares. The Terra pavilion won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. She was awarded first place for the Ways of Repair: Loss and Damage artistic research residency funded by the Open Society Foundations.

Paulo Tavares is an architect, author, and educator. His practice dwells at the frontiers between architecture, visual cultures, and advocacy. Operating through multiple media, Tavares’s projects have been featured in various exhibitions and publications worldwide, including Oslo Architecture Triennial, Istanbul Design Biennale, São Paulo Art Biennial, and the 18th International Architecture Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia (2023). He is the author of several books questioning the colonial legacies of modernity, including Des-Habitat (K. Verlag, 2019), Lucio Costa era Racista? (N-1 Edições, 2022), and Derechos No-Humanos (Bartlebooth, 2022). The curatorial project Terra, in collaboration with Gabriela de Matos, was awarded the Golden Lion for best national participation at La Biennale di Venezia (2023), and Tavares was selected by ArchDaily as one of the Best News Practices of 2023 worldwide. He was cocurator of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial and is part of the advisory curatorial board of Sharjah Biennial 2023. Tavares teaches at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and at the University of Brasília, and leads the spatial advocacy agency autonoma.

The Brazilian Institute of Architects (IAB), founded in 1921, has established itself as an entity that brings together the ideas of an active, lively, generous, and creative collective. This collective debates and promotes actions regarding housing policies, sanitation, environment, urbanism, territorial planning, and preservation of cultural heritage. These initiatives are guided by the recognition of human dignity, seeking equity, citizenship, and respect for the environment. The IAB carries out constant work to promote Brazilian architecture through competitions, exhibitions, and awards, including the São Paulo Architecture Biennial and national architecture congresses. These events provide important material for reflection on Brazilian reality and the social responsibility of architects, as well as guiding the activities of the IAB for the present and future. The institution is characterized by the defense of democracy and freedom, recognizing the role of architects and urban planners in building welcoming, fair, and equitable cities, as well as in preserving a diverse and harmonious natural environment inhabited by people of different cultures. The IAB is a nonprofit organization, based on free association, and is present in all regions of the country through its state departments.