In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of FCA – UNESP’s Faculty of Agronomic Sciences – we were invited to design two monuments on the campus of Botucatu, a new challenge that was faced with great enthusiasm by the FGMF team.

The first monument, located at the roundabout of the current faculty entrance, is a tribute to the 20 students who, by merit of their perseverance, managed to see the college founded in 1965. The homage to the pioneers is done in a simple and yet remarkable way. Twenty 12m tall white metal tubes were placed vertically on a bed of rocks. Strategically positioned on a 60m diameter plot, they are visible by those who come from the entrance or from the main avenue of the campus. During the day, the longline shape of each tube will be part of a three-dimensional composition that changes density according to the angle of observation, simulating students’ movement on their pilgrimage to plea the course 50 years ago. Each tube represents one pioneer that despite being part of a coherent and united group, has it own drilling pattern. At night, illuminated from the inside, the tubes disappear and the light leaking from the holes forms a mist of light. This difference in appearance between day and night is a way of symbolizing the transformations that time imposes on us all, and the possibility of change that education brings us.

The second monument, on the other hand, is a milestone commemorating the 50th anniversary of the college itself, and stands on the new main entrance. The three solid sloping bars represent the college courses: Agronomy, Forest Engineering and Biotechnology. With slightly different sizes and inclinations, they also show the dichotomy between the group and the individual. The materials are different to allow the identification of each course: Agronomy is represented by the concrete bar; the black slate bar represents the Forest Engineering and the one in corten steel stands for the Biotechnology. They are all mineral materials, taken from earth, which is the fundamental element studied at the FCA. The choice of materials also meets maintenance requirements, as they are durable and easy to maintain over time. The implantation of this monument provides a good visibility for those who enter and for those who leave the campus, but with different meanings. For those who enter the campus, the spears point downwards, departing from the air and diving into the ground, a representation of the depth of knowledge and immersion in the study environment. Instead, when you see the monument from inside the campus, it appears to leave the ground and take off towards the sky, an analogy of the students being launched to from the college to the world.