19th of March 2025 – Cobogó Golubov + UNB Auditorium
I set up a google alert for ‘Golubov’ a few years ago and mostly it’s news about Russian scientists/Macedonian footballer – but today I got a little gem about my father.
I’d know for a while about Cobogó Golubov – which is basically an open brick used extensively in Brazilian architecture – it allows for air to circulate and adds a nice character to buildings.
A cobogó is a hollow, decorative architectural block originating in Brazil in the 1920s. The name comes from the initials of its three inventors: Coimbra, Boeckmann, and Góes.
The blocks are designed with open geometric patterns that allow air and light to pass through while still providing privacy and shade — essentially functioning as a screen or lattice wall. They’re made from various materials including ceramic, concrete, and wood.
They became a signature element of Brazilian modernist architecture and are still widely used today, both for practical reasons (natural ventilation in hot climates) and purely aesthetic ones. You’ll see them used as exterior façades, interior partitions, and garden walls.
An article about it, in Portuguese
Photos of cobogós on Pinterest
Today the Google alert had this as one of the results – an Instagram post talking about Cobogó Golubov specifically and giving me some info I didn’t know, i.e. who created them and why…
Estamos muito felizes em apresentar o cobogó Golubov, criado, em 2010, pelos arquitetos queridos, talentosos e admiráveis, fundadores do BLOCO Arquitetos: Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho e Matheus Secco.
Nas palavras deles:
“O Cobogó Golubov é uma homenagem ao rico e diverso trabalho do geômetra, artista e arquiteto Jayme Golubov, que marcou a geração de alunos de arquitetura da Universidade de Brasília.
O desenho surgiu do princípio de composição de algumas das obras abstratas apresentadas nas pinturas sobre papel onde o professor Jayme realizava análise combinatória da matemática e fazia pesquisas com hexagramas do I Ching, com infinitas combinações. As obras surgiam de triângulos, onde composições previamente estudadas criavam linguagens, símbolos e mensagens. A ideia foi proporcionar ao arquiteto (que escolher esse cobogó para aplicar em seu projeto) o uso de um elemento marcante da arquitetura brasileira que propiciasse princípios de combinação aleatória ou pré-determinada, e possibilitasse ao profissional ou ao assentador criar uma rica composição geométrica.”
Translation:
We are very happy to present the Golubov cobogó, created in 2010 by the beloved, talented and admirable architects, founders of BLOCO Arquitetos: Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho and Matheus Secco.In their words:
“The Golubov Cobogó is a tribute to the rich and diverse work of the geometer, artist and architect Jayme Golubov, who left his mark on a generation of architecture students at the University of Brasília.
The design emerged from the compositional principles found in some of the abstract works presented in his paintings on paper, where Professor Jayme carried out combinatorial mathematical analysis and conducted research with I Ching hexagrams, exploring infinite combinations. The works arose from triangles, where previously studied compositions created languages, symbols and messages. The idea was to offer the architect (who chooses this cobogó for their project) the use of a striking element of Brazilian architecture that would allow for principles of random or pre-determined combination, enabling the professional or the installer to create a rich geometric composition.”
See Goluboviedros for more info
While I’m here, back in 2023, an auditorium at the University of Brasília (UNB) was inaugurated and named after my father, who was a lecturer at UNB. Pretty cool!
My sister attending the the auditorium in September 2023
Another photo of sister on auditorium inauguration