BAMBURRAL: THE FUTURE FAVELA [Engaged Design]

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL / 2010

The Future Favela: Bamburral Housing Regeneration and Public Landscape Plan

ENGAGED DESIGN | NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION | HOUSING REGENERATION | RECREATION - PEDESTRIAN INTERACTIONS | COMMUNITY - SCHOOL CONNECTIONS

Surrounded by a landfill and other informal settlements, the Bamburral favela is a community where I led an engaged design process between 2008 and 2009 for a regeneration and public landscape plan, intended as a prototype for balancing the preservation and regeneration of existing housing stock and introduction of new civic spaces in similar settings.

The project transforms the central polluted waterway into a channelized and decked recreation space that connects the community to the local school with commercial, agricultural, and civic programs. While most informal settlement redevelopment schemes displace informal housing stock, this proposal is unique for adapting transects of individual buildings with commercial venues at the street and deck levels and improved public egress. Inside-the-dwelling strategies include vertical courtyards to deliver light and airflow to all spaces, column reinforcement where needed, and flexible wall systems that permit residents to organize space relative to emerging social needs.