In a summer morning in Santa Cruz, two ladies and a child stopped at a bar on the side of the road. They weren’t thirsty, they just had headaches from the heat and that’s the only shadow on the way from their house to the bus stop. In a country like Brazil, a simple 10 minute walk under the scalding sun can become a hard task.
This proposal’s main idea consists on creating an appealing public space by simply adding shadows to shelter uses and fluxes to that arid area of Santa Cruz. There are three different kinds of shadows. All the program elements are linked together by a concrete slab that crosses the lot reinforcing the existing North-South flux. A pergola made of recycled tire panels shelters the path along the canal linking it to the center of the lot. The resting and leisure areas are shadowed by different kinds of trees.
The choice of materials was based on the necessity to assure good ventilation, minimize heat absorption and keep ground’s permeability. Part of the pergola and most of the paving are made of recycled tires.
A phase 3 is proposed where these shadowing elements spread from the site throughout the whole neighborhood.
Chiq da Silva is an Architects Association that has been actively working with housing in Rio de Janeiro. It has started by developing projects for squatters on abandoned public buildings in the city’s centre in order to turn them into social housing. It is currently developing several projects in partnership with the state government and non governmental organizations always focusing on social and cultural aspects of the urban life.
Contact: Carol@chiqdasilva.com
Telephone: 55 21 22275834 / 55 21 88184028
