Born in Vitória (Espírito Santo) in 1938. Architect graduated at FAU Mackenzie in 1954. Open his office in São Paulo in 1955. He was professor at FAUUSP from 1960 to 1968 and from 1980 to 1998.

He had an extensive work that has become notable since 1957, with the construction of the Gymnasium in the Club Athletico Paulistano, in São Paulo, his first reference work, a project with which he won the Presidency of the Republic Grand Prix in VI Bienal de São Paulo.

Among his main projects are:

The Official Brazilian Pavilion at Expo 70, in Japan 1969; the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and Ecology, São Paulo 1987; the Museum of Contemporary Art of Campinas 1989; the Gerassi House 1990; the coverage of the Prestes Maia Gallery, in Praça do Patriarca 2002; the Museum of the Portuguese Language 2006 and the architectural set designed for Cais das Artes, composed by a Museum and a Theatre, Vitória 2010.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s awards include:

Mies Van der Rohe Prize for Latin America Architecture 2000; Pritzker Prize 2006;  Golden Lion for career at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016; Praemium Imperiale Arts Prize from the Japan Art Association 2016 and the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects 2017.

He died on 23th May of 2021 in São Paulo, Brazil.