2017 - 2018
TEAM// Adele Naude, Santos, Gabriel Kozlowski, Angelo Bucci, Marina Grinover, Luís Antônio, Jorge ,Shundi Iwamizu, Diana Ang, Giovanni Bellotti, Bumsuk Cho, Anne Graziano, Justin Lim, Yi Liu, Tyler Swingle, Alexander Wiegering
In July 2017, the MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism (CAU) conducted a workshop in São Paulo to tackle the complexities of building affordable housing in a dense urban environment. Designed within the constraints of local conditions, the workshop reflected the prevailing political and socio-economic frameworks.
The goal was to develop a successful model of inner-city affordable housing. To achieve this, CAU collaborated with key local partners, including FAU-USP, INSPER, ARQ.FUTURO, and the Institute for Urbanism and Studies for the Metropolis (URBEM). These partners brought invaluable knowledge of São Paulo's real estate market, legal frameworks, and local nuances. The workshop took inspiration from the Casa Paulista housing program, launched by the State of São Paulo in April 2012. This public competition aimed to promote housing in six sectors of the expanded downtown area. URBEM won the contract for all six sectors, and the state government is now engaging in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to redevelop the area based on URBEM's urban and economic models.
Currently, the first sector of Casa Paulista is under construction, targeting 3,700 housing units. The workshop focused on developing a similar number of units in the next sector, Brás, as part of Casa Paulista. The workshop explored the potential of new technologies and developed new typologies for affordable housing. Research extended beyond single buildings to neighborhood blocks, emphasizing community building at this larger scale. The resulting urban strategy incorporated phasing and incremental growth, leveraging the dynamic nature of the locale. The workshop spanned three weeks in Brazil and one week at MIT. The insights and outcomes are documented here, and the refined workshop material may be featured in the CAU Housing+ biennial exhibition in May 2018.
