Valeria Bechara

Valeria Figueiredo Bechara Elias is an architect and urban planner who graduated from Universidade Gama Filho, in Rio de Janeiro. In 2002, she completed her MBA in Project Management at FGV in Curitiba.
She has extensive experience in sustainable urban development, strategic planning, urban design, and cultural and heritage architectural projects. She was part of the “Rio Ano 2000” project, a future vision plan for the Rio de Janeiro metropolis, and in 1988 she joined Jaime Lerner Planejamento Urbano (JLPU), where she collaborated on the development of urban plans and strategies for both the public and private sectors.
In 1989, she received the silver medal in the “City Design International Competition” in Milwaukee, USA.

Between 1991 and 1992, she served as a technical consultant for the Municipality of Curitiba, working within the Curitiba Institute for Research and Urban Planning (IPPUC) on cultural architectural projects, including the Memorial da Cidade de Curitiba and the Conservatory of Brazilian Popular Music of Curitiba.

From 1995 to 2002, she worked as a technical consultant for the Government of the State of Paraná in the office of Governor Jaime Lerner, designing and coordinating regional and local programs and plans in the fields of architecture and urban planning for the rehabilitation, requalification, and revitalization of urban areas. Among these:
(i) Coordination and conceptualization of the Parque da Ciência (Science Park), also serving as Director of Science and Technology of the Science Park Foundation;
(ii) Architectural and renovation project of the Museu Paranaense;
(iii) Social Facilities Project;
(iv) “399 Streets” Program;
(v) Cultural Convoy;
(vi) Member of the board of the Free University of the Environment.

Since 2003, as founder and managing partner of JLAA, she has coordinated and participated in urban and metropolitan development projects for public and private clients. Among the projects carried out, she coordinated initiatives in several cities nationally and internationally, including:
(i) Coordination of the Urban Communities Project – Masterplan for 13 new localities in Angola, with a total area of 10,200,000 m² (2011);
(ii) Coordination of the Urban Communities Project Phase II – Masterplan for 3 new localities in Angola, totaling 893,511 m² (2021);
(iii) Coordination of the Guidelines Plan for Urban Macro-Structuring of the Municipality of Balneário Camboriú – Balneário Camboriú Masterplan, Santa Catarina, covering 45.21 km² (2020);
(iv) Coordination of the Recovery of Luanda’s Road Corridors, Angola (2007–2008);
(v) Participation in the development of the Viva Park Porto Belo Masterplan, Porto Belo, Santa Catarina, with an area of 450,000 m² (2018);
(vi) Participation in the development of the “Centro Novo” project: A Vision for Downtown São Paulo (2017);
(vii) Participation in the development of the Guaíba Waterfront Urban Park, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (2012–2018);
(viii) Coordination and development of projects for the Tourism Development Guidelines Plan of Balsa Nova, Paraná (2020);
(ix) “Cidade X” – Preliminary Urban Plan, São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro (2011);
(x) Coordination of the Basic Guidelines Project for Urban Development in the cities of Culiacán, Mazatlán, and Los Mochis (2003–2004);
(xi) Coordination and project development for the Requalification of Historic Buildings, Santiago de los Caballeros (2009).

Valéria was also the Lead Specialist for the Historic and Cultural Heritage Strategic Axis in the Integrated Urban Development Strategic Plan for the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (PDUI/RMRJ), carried out between 2015 and 2018.

In 2021, she became the first architect to receive the Enedina Alves Marques Award from the Paraná Institute of Engineering, an honor recognizing professionals who stand out in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Agronomy, and Geosciences—awarded in recognition of her professional trajectory.