The building has a name

verticalization and toponymy in the centre of Fortaleza (1931 – 1964)

Abstract

The aim of this research is to relate verticalization in the center of Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, to the names of buildings, based on a series of anthropocultural taxonomies. The time frame is from 1931, when the city's first “skyscraper” was inaugurated, the Excelsior Hotel, to 1964, when the Palácio Progresso building was inaugurated, at a time when the verticalization axes were becoming more specialized beyond the city's central core. Using documents, urban planning legislation, secondary data, plans and old photos, it was possible to choose ten buildings to analyze some characteristics that could express in time and space the reasons that led to their respective designations. Their location itself represents a different phase of verticalization in the center, their historical importance shows new ways of living and building, new uses and functions assigned to them reflect the way the city itself has been built over time and all this can be analysed from their names. From place names to buildings, the formation of a toponym whose relationship is linked to endogenous and exogenous factors, history, geography and so many other elements, builds an imaginary full of values, beliefs and views on the world. Therefore, the relationship between verticalization and Toponymy (the study of place names) allows a reading of the urban space, bringing important processes to the understanding of the transformations that have taken place in the center of the capital.