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João Pina

São Paulo, Brazil: Food delivery personnel wait for their packages at a small market in the Copan building, the largest residential building in Latin America.

The Copan has been shrouded in a mesh shield for years, in an ongoing project to replace the millions of tiny tiles that cover the structure’s exterior.

The wave-shaped Copan building is permanently etched on the arm of Fani Moraes, a journalist who lives in the building.

The Copan’s “mayor,” Affonso Celso Oliveira, has lived in the building since the 1960s and now runs the place. Residents credit him with keeping coronavirus out of the building through actions including closing the usually crowded rooftop in late January. Under normal circumstances, an average of 250 people visit the rooftop, many of them tourists looking to take in the view from the famous building.

Helena Sabino, 10, plays on the couch of her family's apartment.

A resident walks her dogs near the Copan’s entrance. Though there’s little green space at the iconic building, the cooped-up inhabitants take every opportunity to go outside.

Tamara Salazar, 28, a resident of four years, works as a DJ, stylist, model, and event planner. Many freelancers, including Salazar, have found their assignments cancelled or put on hold as a result of the health crisis. “Basically I have been living off the jobs I did in January,” Salazar says.

Downtown São Paulo at dusk, as seen from the edge of the Copan building. The city of 12 million is under lockdown, but three weeks into mandatory quarantine, signs of life are beginning to pop up, says photographer Joao Pina.

Art teacher Bruna Moraes, 27, lounges in a hammock in her apartment. Pina says many of the residents were relieved to have someone to talk to, so he often visited with them for hours before photographing them. With each visit, Pina says he always followed established health protocols.

David Sabino, 14, peers out from his family’s sprawling apartment on the 31st floor of the Copan. The building is home to a cross-section of Brazilian society, from artists and freelancers to the very wealthy.