Paraisopolis Housing
Paraisopolis is the second largest slum in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, with 60,000 inhabitants. The Municipality of São Paulo has been working in the slum area, doing redevelopment process and providing social and urban infrastructure and facilities for the community.
The Housing Project, which received 954 families whose houses were removed in the redevelopment areas of the Paraisopolis slum, focuses on the integration of the new buildings into the existing slum while interfacing with the tall buildings of the adjacent neighborhood.
The Housing Project comprises 07 condominiums: A, B, C, D, E, F and G, all independent from one another.
Condominiums A, B, C, E, F and G consist of linked or adjacent buildings with four upper floors, above an intermediate access floor which functions as a ground floor, and with 1 to 4 lower floors below, scaled according to the terrain slope. This feature of the buildings provides a specific look for each building in the condominiums, resulting in a set of buildings differentiated from each other.
On the designated ground floor, or intermediate floor, lies the space for collective circulation to access the staircases. In the remaining space there are community activities related to education, recreation, cohabitation of children, young and the elderly. On this floor, along with the staircases, the electricity chambers were placed. Some of the buildings in each of the condominiums have accessible apartments on this floor.
Distinct staircases distribute the flows to the floors above and below the ground floor, serving 4 housing units on each floor.
Condominium D comprises isolated buildings with four floors above the ground floor, without lower floors. On the ground floor of each building there are accessible apartments and common rooms. Also on the ground floor, with independent access and no communication with the residential areas, there are small shops, which are equidistant from the other condominiums, to enable social interaction with the various parts of the community and provide basic goods.
The wet areas are concentrated near the entrance of the unit to allow more flexibility in the division of its internal spaces. The apartments are delivered with 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom and service area.
The apartments presents total organizational flexibility, and all internal walls can be removed and repositioned elsewhere, allowing different layouts as needed by the user.
Construction System
The construction system adopted consists of concrete-block masonry structural walls, which are steel reinforced and have grout filling in some holes of the blocks. The rhythm of solids and voids (closed windows and open windows) on the façade of the buildings results from the modulation, which is a consequence of size of the blocks.
The structural walls are located on the perimeter of each unit and the internal walls do not have any structural function and serve merely for divisional purposes, allowing the flexibility above mentioned.
Coatings
The coating of the external walls is impermeable and based on resins, pigments and quartz, applied directly to the masonry walls. This coating provides quality and durability, and allowed different colors to be specified for each condominium, which makes it easier for them to be identified and differentiated by the residents, the community and the visitors.
Windows
Sliding windows made of aluminum with white electrostatic coating were designed to be installed on the outside face of the walls, to open to the full extent of the frame, for better ventilation and lighting of the space, generating an optimal level of hygiene and comfort. The external view of the whole building, as a result of the design of the window frames, provides a variety of positions of the opening and closing of windows, which is differentiated in each unit, as well as the horizontal juxtaposition of window frames.
Outside Areas
The leisure areas received external accessories such as benches and children's toys, which were manufactured in certified wood.
A landscaping project were implemented in all condominiums, providing areas of shade and cooling the hot air, with Brazilian native species and fruit trees, as well as ground covering species and lawns.
Accessibility
Accessibility is provided in all condominiums, which planned apartments for people with special needs or disabilities, located on the ground floor, with direct access from the entry level of the condominium to these apartments. These housing units have been designed to allow mobility and access to internal spaces and equipment for a wheelchair user.#socialhousing
CREDITS
Architects: Edson Elito, Joana Fernandes Elito, Cristiane Otsuka Takiy
Collaborators: Rita Freitas, Cristina Sindicic
Embankment Project: Mag Projesolos Associates Engineers Ltd.
Experts’ report and Technical Foundations: Mag Projesolos Associates Engineers Ltd.
Structure Project: Kurkdjian Fruchtengarten Engineers and Associates Ltd.
Electrical and Hydraulic Installations Project: Sandretec Consulting Ltd.
Impermeabilization Project: PROASSP Consultancy and Projects Ltd.
Coordination by the Municipality of São Paulo - SEHAB / HABI:
Architect Elizabete França, Architect Maria Teresa dos Santos Diniz
Management: Citizenship consortium
Construction: Camargo Corrêa SA Construction and Trade
Planova / Via Consortium, Carioca / Delta Consortium
