In May, Vale and the government of Pará (Brazil) laid the foundation stone of the Vale Technology Institute (ITV) center in Belém, which will conduct medium- and long-term research on sustainable development. The facility will be staffed by around 300 professionals, including Brazilian and foreign researchers and professors. Around R$162 million will be invested in its construction.
The center, which is expected to open in 2013, will occupy a 140,000-square-meter site in Guamá Science and Technology Park. In October, ITV will set up temporarily in a 2,100-square-meter building, also in Belém.
The Belém center is one of three that ITV is building in Brazil. The others will be in Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais) and São José dos Campos (São Paulo), and will specialize in mining and low-carbon energy, respectively.
Environmentally responsible architectural design
Naturally, given its field of research, ITV’s Belém center has a completely sustainable architectural design, incorporating water reuse and low energy consumption. In addition, it interferes minimally in the local environment, by mimicking the stilt design of the Amazon region’s traditional riverside buildings. The center was designed by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the winner of the 2006 Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious architectural award in the world.
Learn about the Vale Technology Institute