Amazonas Theater will modernize the firefighting system

With a deadline for completion of four months, the services will be executed during the period when the Theater will not have a performance schedule.

One of the landmarks of the capital of Amazonas, the Amazonas Theater will undergo adaptation and modernization services of the firefighting, panic and lightning protection systems. With the completed bidding, the works should start in January 2020, totaling an investment of R $ 2,1 million, made possible through a partnership between the Government of Amazonas, through the State Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy, and the Institute of Historical Heritage and National Artistic (Iphan).

The work will be done by Construtora Biapó Ltda. and aims to improve the protection systems of the building, which is a Brazilian Cultural Heritage, preserving the neoclassical architecture and the memory of the so-called Amazon Belle Époque. With a deadline of four months, the services will be executed during the period in which the Theater will not have a performance schedule. Adjustments to the space's tourist visitation schedules will be informed to the public in advance, when necessary.

Adapting the theater to the requirements for renewal of the Inspection Certificate of the Fire Department of Amazonas, the works in the fire system include the installation of alarm and photo and smoke detection mechanism via wireless. The pump house will also be adapted, gas exhaustion and forced ventilation will be installed, and the so-called fire ball will be installed - a fire extinguishing device with automatic activation when in contact with fire. The project also foresees the implementation of emergency lighting and recovery of the demolitions at the end.

"The action aims to prevent the onset of fire in the theater and thus safeguard people and the heritage itself, including its interior and its objects that are part of the architectural complex," explains the superintendent of Iphan-AM, Karla Bitar. "With the modernization, in case there is a fire, this system will be able to fight it effectively. Today there is a system, but it does not have all the efficiency necessary.

The building's electrical installations will be revised, with the replacement of electrical cables, switches, sockets, and profiles. The interventions foresee the installation and adaptation of energy boards, besides the change of circuit breakers for more modern models and, also, the adaptation of the wiring of the electrical connections. Finally, the interventions include the improvement of the Atmospheric Discharge Protection System (SPDA): installation of new lightning rods, maintenance of the discharge collection system, and adaptation of the grounding subsystem.

"The Teatro Amazonas is a cultural icon of our state, and it reassures us to know that we are doing what is necessary to preserve it. This action is the result of a very happy partnership with Iphan and was possible because we were already with this modernization project ready when requested", highlights the state secretary of Culture and Creative Economy, Marcos Apolo Muniz.

The investment of more than R$ 2 million for the technological update of the firefighting system of the Amazonas Theater was announced by the then special secretary of Culture, Henrique Medeiros Pires, during the meeting "The Opera Theaters and the Creative Economy in Latin America", at the Amazonas Opera Festival, in May this year. "When the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights opened the public notice, the project made by the technical team of the Amazonas Secretary of Culture was already ready, submitted via Iphan, and was awarded," said Pires, at the time.

Amazonas Theater

Inaugurated in 1896, the Teatro Amazonas became the biggest symbol of the so-called rubber cycle, when the growing international demand for latex made the region the world's largest supplier of the product, making Manaus (AM) and Belém (PA) commercial hubs. Along the rivers, rubber tappers extracted latex; in the cities, the elites were inspired by the French culture of the late 19th century to make important urban and cultural changes: a period that became known as the Amazonian Belle Époque.

"Because of all this exceptional recognition of the theater, a relevant work of the rubber boom period, it was the first property listed by Iphan in the state of Amazonas," says the superintendent of Iphan-AM, Karla Bitar. "The building portrays the interest of the Amazonian society for arts and culture in that period. And today it is the stage for important events, such as the Amazon Opera Festival, which is a world reference. There are many reasons that reveal its importance to Amazonas. It is the Amazonas' show house".

In order to receive show companies from other countries and meet the demand from the rubber elite, the Teatro Amazonas was conceived based on the architectural project of the Portuguese Cabinet of Engineering and Architecture of Lisbon.

Protected by Iphan in 1966, the theater is now one of the most important assets of the Amazonas Cultural Heritage and the most important show house in the state. Throughout the year, cultural programs are promoted, when spectators have the opportunity to get closer to the architectural and artistic details of the building, as well as to see up close one of the episodes of Amazonian history.

The Teatro Amazonas is also open to guided tours, in which it is possible to contemplate the halls and museums that the space houses, with historical information. The tourist visitation takes place from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9am to 5pm, and on Sundays, from 9am to 2pm. Admission costs R$ 20 (full price). Amazonians do not pay (you must present a photo ID to prove your nationality).

With information from the advisory