From Scotland to the Amazon: the iron rain water pipes from the Scottish foundry W. McFarlane & Co. on façades of the Historical Center in Belém, Pará, Brazil

ABSTRACT As a result of the Rubber Cycle, also known as “Belle Époque”, that stroke Brazil during the late 19th and early 20th century, the municipality of Belém (PA-Brazil) underwent several transformations in its urban, architectural, and social structures. This period was characterized by metal ornaments imports from European countries, modifying the architecture of the city. In this scenario, the Scottish company W. MacFarlane & Co was among the foreign companies that intensely exported cast iron goods, including a range variety of patterns and design of iron ornaments, especially water ducts in eclectic façades - still present in the city. Despite representing an important historical, technological, and architectural testimony, these water ducts are currently in danger due bad functioning, substitutions, and robbery. This research aims to document quantity, patterns, and alteration forms of the water ducts present in seven neighborhoods in Belém, including the historical center, besides discussing the ducts transformations that still occur within the urban landscape. A total of 408 ducts from 223 façades were documented in the study, indicating a great variety of patterns. The results will subside these ducts safeguard as a part of the remanent metal architectural elements from the industrialization in Belém that are disappearing through the years, as well as provide data for further research on these water ducts for scientific restoration purposes.

摘要 19世纪末至20世纪初席卷巴西的橡胶繁荣期（Rubber Cycle，亦称“美好年代（Belle Époque）”），使巴西帕拉州贝伦市的城市、建筑与社会结构发生了深刻变革。这一时期以从欧洲国家进口金属装饰构件为显著特征，重塑了该市的建筑风貌。在此背景下，苏格兰企业W. MacFarlane & Co.是大规模出口铸铁制品的外资企业之一，其产品涵盖丰富款式与设计的铁质装饰件，尤以折衷主义建筑立面（eclectic façades）中的输水管道为代表，这类构件如今仍留存于贝伦市内。尽管这些输水管道作为极具价值的历史、技术与建筑见证，目前却因功能失效、被替换及被盗等问题面临损毁风险。本研究旨在记录贝伦市七个街区（含历史中心）内现存输水管道的数量、款式与改造形式，并探讨当前仍在城市景观中持续发生的管道变迁情况。本研究共记录了223处建筑立面上的408根输水管道，展现出丰富的款式多样性。研究结果将为这些输水管道的保护工作提供支撑，作为贝伦市工业化时期遗留的金属建筑构件的一部分，这类构件正逐年消逝；同时也可为针对此类输水管道的科学修复研究提供数据支持。