CONGRUENT SUPERLATIVES

2013, Cabuco de Baxio, Sao Paolo, Brazil, with Gerhard Ungersboeck

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The program developed out of a call for projects by the RENOVA urban commission in Sao Paulo to submit proposals for housing interventions in the favelas of Sao Paolo. The site of our intervention in Cabuco de Baxio, Sao Paulo lay alongside a river, many residents were to be evicted form here due to the frequent flooding in the area. Our housing proposal, combine livelihood opportunities with flexible housing solutions in an attempt to create an autonomous neighbourhood. In addition to the housing, we proposed for a community centre which could open the possibilities for cooperative engagement among residents. The housing surplus produced through densification could be used to accommodate new arrivals into the community. The typologies of housing proposed develop from the flexible everyday practices of favelas and allow multiple accommodation combinations and adaptability. Moreover, in our proposal, we proposed for communal gardens in derelict spaces lying idle under high tension lines passing close to the site. These could further strengthen the cooperative engagement within the community.