The lack of systematized memory of the architecture public competitions held in the State of Rio Grande do Sul was the knowledge gap that motivated the development of the research. In terms of documentation of these competitions, very little is left. Until recently, researchers faced difficulties in finding information and graphic material about this production of Brazilian Architecture. The main reasons for this problem are the lack of systematized collections and the difficulties of conservation and availability of projects both by the authors and / or family members of the architects (usually depositories of these collections), and by the institutions charged with preserving them. Important documents often deteriorate irreversibly or even disappear.
In general, the importance of competitions and their processes in the development of architectural culture is minimized. It would be sufficient to recall pioneering works of modern Latin American and Brazilian architecture such as the headquarters of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and the project selection process for the Ministry of Education and Public Health, both of 1935, held in Rio de Janeiro, to give the dimension that the contribution of the history of competitions in the Latin American and Brazilian contexts.
Modern Architecture in Rio Grande do Sul, especially in Porto Alegre, promoted by local professionals, from platinum region and the Rio de Janeiro – São Paulo axis, affirmed, according to Demétrio Ribeiro, on public competitions. Unfortunately, that this production, both past and present, is still insufficiently documented and systematized, being important the continuity and permanent updating of this work.
Therefore, the importance of this research remains not only the organized material, for more than twenty years. The main contribution is related to the creation of a culture in the sense of, collecting, systematizing, documenting and disseminating the project production, through collections.