The Tupiniquim people have inhabited Espírito Santo since ancient times, settling between Camamu (Bahia) and the São Mateus River, with a rich culture connected to the Piraqueaçu mangroves. Portuguese colonization in the 16th century began a process of cultural domination, worsened by Jesuit influence in subsequent centuries and, in the 20th century, by predatory logging, coal and mineral extraction that devastated traditional territories and displaced indigenous communities.

From the 1970s onward, with recognition by FUNAI (Brazil's National Indian Foundation), the struggle for land demarcation intensified, resulting in the creation of the Tupiniquim Guarani Indigenous Territory in 2007, shared with the Guarani Mbya people. In this context of resistance, Pau Brasil Village emerged as an important center for cultural revitalization, with special focus on preserving the Tupi Litorânea language and transmitting traditional knowledge to new generations.

In 2024, building on a partnership begun in 2017 with projects like the Women's House, Tupiniquim leaders and Grupo Fresta (with experience in community architecture since 2008) conducted participatory workshops to design the Mopy'atã Ra'yraé Cultural Center. This space symbolizes indigenous resistance and serves as a platform for youth identity strengthening, integrating traditional cultural practices with contemporary approaches while promoting environmental education for the preservation of the indigenous land's ecosystem.

The space, designed for the village youth, will host gatherings, ethnotourism activities, audiovisual production, and musical rehearsals/performances – particularly the traditional drum circle.

The new structure faces the village's main square alongside other key public buildings like the Women's House, channeling the square's movement through its wraparound verandas toward the central circular volume.

Core activities unfold in this multifunctional central space – permeable to the public for meetings, performances, and exhibitions – while the outer perimeter contains modular areas for restricted functions: instrument storage, audiovisual production, exhibition support, restrooms, and a small kitchen.

The diversity of roof forms, volumes, and materials expresses local identity, emerging from democratic discussions in participatory workshops that honor Tupiniquim heritage through youth empowerment.

The Mopy'atã Ra'yraé Cultural Center stands not just as a space to perpetuate Tupiniquim language/culture and environmental education (promoting indigenous land reforestation and ecological memory), but also as a crucible for youth creativity and occupation – a place of hope for the future.

About Grupo ][ Fresta:

Founded in 2008, Grupo ][ Fresta consists of four architects and one sociologist: Anita Freire, Carolina Sacconi, Luan Carone, Otávio Sasseron, and Tais Freire, respectively, working on architectural and sociocultural projects. As needed, the group collaborates with other architects and professionals.

Grupo ][ Fresta works closely with communities to understand their needs and identities, co-creating architectural programs through participatory processes. This approach has guided their urban projects with residents' associations in Heliópolis (São Paulo's largest favela), a municipal daycare in Rio Pequeno, and especially their work with Indigenous communities (Guarani, Tupi, and Tupiniquim villages in São Paulo and Espírito Santo) and riverside communities in Canavieiras (Bahia), Novo Airão (Amazon), and Marujá (Cardoso Island State Park).

Building on their ongoing partnership since 2017 – which included an agricultural shed and Women's House – Grupo Fresta reunited with Pau Brasil Village leaders in March 2024 to conduct participatory workshops for the co-design of the Mopy'atã Ra'yraé Cultural Center.

Connect:
Website: https://www.grupofresta.com.br/
Instagram: @grupofresta