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Early life of the architect
Rino Levi was born on December 31, 1901, to two Italian-Jewish parents in San Paolo, Brazil. He attended the Dante Alighieri College in San Paolo and then decided to return to Italy to study in the city of Milan, in 1921. After three years of study there he moved to the city of Rome (1924) and enrolled in the School of Architecture. This is a very important period for the architect as there he meets Adalberto Liberen and Marcello Piacentini. Two of the people who had the greatest influence on Levi's formation as an architect. He worked for some time in their design office.
Professional life
In 1926 Rino Levi decided to return to his homeland and worked there for a year at the Santos Construction Company. In 1927 he worked as a freelance architect and founded the Rino Levi Architects office. His first major work was the Columbus Building in 1932. This building was the first apartment complex in the metropolis, demolished in 1971.
Columbus building, Sao Paolo 1932
The project Cine Ufa Palace (1936) was a role model for other cinemas projects: Cine Universe (1936), Cine Art-Palace Recife (1937), the Cine Ipiranga (1943) and the Theatre Culture Arts (1942).
Building Cine Ufa on Saint John Avenue
These rationalist buildings have simple volumes, with evident structure.
Rino Levi participated in the formation and construction of the Institute of Architects of Brazil and was an active member.
Notable buildings:
Edificio Sul-Americano, 1961
Hotel Excelsior, 1943
Teatro Cultura Artistica, 1947
Casa de Olivio Gomes
Refered to Architectuul