In 1986, the city of São Paulo experienced a major architectural and cultural event: the completion of the adaptation of an abandoned barrel factory into the SESC Pompéia Factory Leisure Center. A project by Italian-born Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, the strategy was to repurpose vacant industrial structures into a networkNetworks of cultural and social hubs, a move critic Steffen Lehmann describes as a new focus of the concept of adaptive reuseAdaptive reuse in urban rehabilitation projects. Lina Bo Bardi’s principles and ideas were informed by disparate activities and interests, including journalism, curatorial practices, anthropology, and political activism. Throughout her life, she steadily challenged disciplinary boundaries, her projects and initiatives blurring binary oppositions—architectureArchitecture/urban design, traditional/modern, interior/landscape designLandscape design, vernacular/global, popular/elitist, artisanship/industrial design, building/art. This study proposes the SESC Pompéia as a new urban paradigm that challenged Modern Movement’s “functionalist” urban doctrines. Bo Bardi’s initiative fosters places and situations that can accommodate a multiplicity of uses and activities for all ages and genders. Under this urban paradigm, the notion of “street” is continually being reinterpreted and challenged. Alternately or simultaneously, SESC Pompéia’s streets can perform as exterior and interior spaces, terrestrial and elevated walkways, sunbathing decks and performance stages, as pedestrianPedestrians corridors and places of leisure and contemplation. Bo Bardi envisioned the SESC Pompéia as a “citadel of freedom,” advancing the possibility of a more inclusive, equalitarian, multifunctional, and innovative urban experience for all. It is the power of Bo Bardi’s vision that explains the continuing relevance of her work.