Established in the 60’s with a modernistic masterplan,
the neighbourhood of Cidade de Deus failed
to accommodate its population’s needs. The apartment
buildings were mono-functional units lacking
any connection to the urban life, the space between
them an empty field. The inhabitants struggled to
make this space suitable for they lives, transforming it with informal extensions.
We identified the issue
in the sharp separation of private and public, built
and void, defined and undefined. We translated the
pattern of add-ons to a different scale, to thicken this “boundary line” and turn it into a seamless transition.
The new elements act between the urban and domestic
realm, reshuffling the apartments from the inside
and forming new urban space outside. Clusters
of buildings surround new plazas, whose residents
constitute community cooperatives to run an autonomous system
of urban facilities.
Research-by-design. 2012.
In collaboration with Alkistis Thomidou.
Part of the MAS in Urban Design at ETH Zürich
In collaboration with Alkistis Thomidou.
Part of the MAS in Urban Design at ETH Zürich











