Log inSubscribe
DETAIL

Report: Model Project in the Jacarezinho Favela, Rio de Janeiro

In Brazil, the word "favela" means an illegal squatter slum, a product of migration from the land into the cities. Most settlements of this kind are marked by poverty, crime and a lack of urban infrastructure. The favela in Jacarezinho is one of roughly 500 settlements of this kind in Rio de Janeiro in which some 1.2 million people live. In the early 1990s, the Favela Bairro programme was established with the aim of opening up these areas, providing them with urban facilities, and integrating them into the city. One step in this direction is to legalize the occupation of the land.

Report: Model Project in the Jacarezinho Favela, Rio de Janeiro
© Rainer Weisbach

At the end of 1999, the Bauhaus Dessau foundation was invited by the civic authorities of Rio to collaborate in developing a model project for the Jacarezinho favela. With 60,000 inhabitants, it is the second largest squatter settlement in the city. In view of its informal trade and service structures, it forms an almost autonomous city within a city. Its extremely high density poses enormous problems, however. The inhabitants have to use the existing roof areas for gardens and storage space, and for keeping animals; and each new dwelling erected on the roof of another compounds the already grave access problems. This usually limits the maximum building height to 2–3 storeys. In addition, the land is divided into extremely small plots.

The model project was based on recognizing the existing structures and the architecture of the favela as capable of development. An “urban cell” concept was agreed, in which prototypical urban-architectural proposals can be made. A new land-division structure is planned that would allow individual building sites to be joined and increased to a viable size, with direct access from the main circulation routes. An optimization of the layouts would also allow a flexible trade use of the ground floor level, which is of poor habitable quality anyway. By combining the features of multi-storey habitation with those of single-family houses, a new housing type was created in Jacarezinho, without destroying the small-scale existing structure. The sunshading resulting from the density of the development is complemented by ventilation and cooling within the buildings. The quality of the housing and commercial uses will also be improved by cutting courtyards in the dense fabric.

A “foyer” development is planned on industrial wasteland adjoining the favela. Here, the typical settlement structures will be transformed to create an “ideal” favela and a bridge to the city. Proposals have also been made to set up an international centre for projects in deprived areas The first building will be inaugurated in the summer of 2003.

Gallery

  • The new seven-storey building on Hohlstrasse in Zurich will comprise a ground floor with retail space and public service areas, and five upper floors with commercial space.

    Railway Tracks as a Supporting Structure - How Does That Work? 

    Around 180 kilometres of track are replaced every year on the Swiss rail network. Until now, all this scrap metal has been melted down. However, the first building with a steel framework made from recycled rails will soon be constructed in western Zurich.

  • Landscape architect Line Ramstad is the new chief curator of the Oslo Triennale.

    „One Size Does Not Fit All" 

    Facades made from waste wool, recycled steel from decommissioned ships, housing rather than investment property: Line Ramstad, chief curator of the Oslo Triennale, shows what happens when nature takes precedence.

  • Paul Van Ostaijen Culture Campus in Leuven

    Lava architecten transformed an old mission building in Leuven into a place where circus arts, music, theatre, and dance coexist under one shared roof. Effective soundproofing is the precondition for the shared use of the facility.

  • Even though the main exhibition pavilion in the Giardini was closed, the 2025 Architecture Biennale featured more exhibits than ever before.

    Self-Exploitation in the Celebrity Circus

    At every Architecture Biennale, the curators face the same obstacles: a lack of funding, a great deal of red tape, and an organisation that ignores collective achievements. Why do they put themselves through this? We speak to Albena Yaneva, who spent a year observing the development process of the 2025 Biennale.

  • A vision for the future of Barcelona: Boltshauser Architekten have designed demountable street furniture made from concrete blocks for the Catalan metropolis. The blocks are made from recycled lean-mix concrete layers under roads.

    An End to Downcycling  

    In its current form, concrete recycling does little to help climate protection. The CO₂-intensive cement is lost irretrievably in the process. Boltshauser Architekten are working with a consortium from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain on the Respira research project to investigate how this can be avoided.

  • Stress tests have shown that re-use prestressed concrete slabs deflect significantly less than conventional reinforced concrete slabs.

    Slabs Under Tension 

    Concrete floor slabs have the largest carbon footprint of all building elements. In the past, the material was lost irretrievably during demolition. A Swiss consortium is now cutting standard square slabs from buildings due for demolition and using them to manufacture prestressed segmental concrete elements with a higher structural performance than new reinforced concrete.