São Paulo is one of the world’s largest megalopolises, the emblem of a multicultural society: its teeming millions have all sorts of different backgrounds that have profoundly influenced the culture of this great Brazilian city, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Paranà and is considered to be the financial and industrial hub of all of Latin America.
Home of Brazil’s oldest university, São Paolo has also given birth to many artistic and aesthetic movements, contending with Rio for the title of Brazil’s principal cultural focus Traditionally capital of the country’s most dynamic industrial concentrations, such as textiles, furnishings and lighting, São Paolo has experienced a gradual change in its economic profile: from a very industrial hub to a centre that tends to focus on high technology and services.
It is home to some of the country’s leading TV networks and of numerous advertising agencies and publishers. In 2005, IED chose São Paolo, South America’s largest, most cosmopolitan and quite possibly most dynamic city, to be the home of its first location in the new continent.
IED’s multidisciplinary teaching methods, its strong multicultural vocation and its constant quest for creative research and innovation blend well here with the character and values of a city that is the leader in its region, just as IED is a leader in training As a result, the school’s partnership with the institutions and with the various different local economic interest groups has developed rapidly, building synergies that facilitate students in the process of their training and in making a start in a labour market with an international scope.
The São Paulo campus is located in the Bairro de Higienópolis, a very lively, dynamic residential and commercial neighbourhood, with a wealth of varied architecture and numerous cultural institutions.
One of the older areas of the city, it has been inhabited since the XVI century and has witnessed the most significant evolutions in Brazil’s history. Unlike many other areas, though, it has kept its social and population profile unchanged.
The building occupies a surface of some 3,000 m² on five storeys, where it hosts three of the system’s schools: IED Fashion Lab, IED Design, IED Visual Arts.
In addition to its large lecture theatres, the school has libraries and numerous workshops for IT, tailoring, fabrics, modelling, trends, graphic design etc.