The future Centre of Sustainable Development at
the Espaco Israel Pinheiro (),
an architectural project of Oscar Niemeyer, is
located at the Praca dos Tres Poderes, the civic
heart of the federal capital of Brazil, Brasilia.
This Centre is planned as an educational place
dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development,
including its economic, social, cultural and environmental
dimensions. Its main objective is to raise public
awareness and offer students and visitors a complementary
educational programme through art, science and
technology on Brazilian history, culture and environmental
diversity. It aims to strengthen the learning,
comprehension and the formation of future citizens,
while raising awareness of the need for protecting
the environment in sustainable modes. Furthermore,
the centre aims to contribute to alternative
solutions to the current environment degradation
of the rain forest, the cerrado and other biomes
in Brazil through the promotion of activities
that encourage reforestation, education for
sustainable agricultural practices and alternative
economic solutions for local communities. The
Centre is also interested in the implementation
of the national programme for the production
and consumption of bio-diesel. It believes that
the poor communities, including indigenous peoples,
have a unique opportunity to generate more income,
preserve their way of life, and help with conservation
of the rain forest and other biomes as well
as the reforestation of degraded areas.
Another important role of the Centre is to
provide information and advice on alternative
sources of energy. The Brazilian experience
with ethanol from sugar cane for transportation
is considered worldwide as the most successful
method in providing alternative solutions to
fossil fuels .
This project envisions the production of traditional
educational material, such as books, catalogues,
brochures, and the setting up of interactive
hypermedia and virtual reality exhibitions as
games, DVDs and software for personalized learning.
This material will be accessed from computer
terminals inside the Centre, and on the internet,
as a viral vehicle with chain-reaction potential
aiming to meet national and international audiences.
The Centre comprises an exhibition area encompassing
auditorium, halls, mezzanine and basement around
1137 square meters surrounded by 370 hectares
of woodlands and the planted trail with native
species of the cerrado to be used for the educational
programme activities.
FLAME is helping the Centre to raise funds
for the completion of the Centre and its opening
to the public.
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