..is an educational center of applied ecology and low impact architecture.
The alternative school was founded in 1987 by the Dutch architect and urban planner Johan van Lengen, legend of the sustainability movement around the world - author of The Barefoot Architect's Manual.
In Bom Jardim, state of Rio de Janeiro, the Institute TIBÁ is organizing monthly workshops with renowned specialists in intuitive design, bio-architecture, bamboo construction, agroforestry and PANCs (non-conventional edible plants), and offers professional consultations on architectural projects.
UPCOMING EVENTS :
REVIEWS :
Since 2015, Marc van Lengen and Aga Probala have been taking care of the Tiba Institute and the legacy of Johan van Lengen in creating a place of exchange and experience in bio-architecture and other means for sustainability.
MARC VAN LENGEN
..born in San Francisco in the early 60's, his parents being Rose, an artist and Johan, an architect. During his childhood, he was exposed to the arts while living in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City. After leaving home, he began studying Architecture and Fine Arts, but left after two years to find his own way, which led to a period of travel around the world and a time with the teachings of Osho in Rashneeshpuram. Later, in Amsterdam and London, he was fortunate to work with several photography and carpentry masters.
For many years he was a fashion and music photographer and after returning to Rio de Janeiro in 2003, he soon turned to one of his first passions, architecture and construction. Since, he is the director of the Tibá Institute.
Aga PROBALA
..being born in Poland, spent her childhood inside a cinema, with her father working as a projectionist and her mother as a nurse. From the earliest years of her life she was a stubborn autodidact and an omnivorous book worm, bending the school system of post-communist Poland to her needs. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Germany to study fashion and graphic design in pursuit of a creative but also practical vocation. After a traineeship in Belgium and France, she gained experience in the fashion industry working for Italian companies - only to realize, that her world had to extend beyond that milieu.
She traveled to Brazil and found her new calling: the crafts, nature and a place which she could call her habitat. Tiba changed her way of living and thinking. Taught her to listen not only to cultural and aesthetic conscious but also to our social and environmental consciousness. Helped her focus on holistic experience, strong questioning and deep commitment.
Find out about our workshops and apprenticeship and what the place offers.
See the projects created by our team, tutors and students.
Read more about Johan's research and career and the Institute's legacy.
O mais incrível foi aprender na prática como se faz o modelo de teto verde e de jardim vertical (com Gernot Minke). Foi uma vivência pura, com muita troca de experiências.Todas as etapas do processo são passadas de forma impecável, com muita atenção, responsabilidade e compromisso.
– Tânia Mara