What do you think?
Rate this book
Building Brazil!
In Building Brazil!, the Master of Advanced Studies in Urban Design, ETH Zürich, turns its attention to the settlements blanketing the hills of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
As cities strain under a growing population and demand for resources, Brazil will provide a test case for how politicians, architects and urban planners can work together with local stakeholders to improve living conditions in informal settlements without upsetting their social structures. Against the backdrop of recent and exemplary developments in Brazilian public policy and slum-upgrading practices, Building Brazil! suggests a proactive approach to the favela that opens up the existing urban fabric to architectural and urban interventions.
Shifting between micro and macro levels of analysis, Building Brazil! investigates the way forward for the favelas of Jardim Colombo, Heliópolis, Cidade Ipava and Rio das Pedras. Practical design solutions for informal, risk-prone areas are situated within overarching urban strategies; and context-specific projects are complemented by editorials on the spatial, social and financial dynamics of the informal Brazilian city.
As cities strain under a growing population and demand for resources, Brazil will provide a test case for how politicians, architects and urban planners can work together with local stakeholders to improve living conditions in informal settlements without upsetting their social structures. Against the backdrop of recent and exemplary developments in Brazilian public policy and slum-upgrading practices, Building Brazil! suggests a proactive approach to the favela that opens up the existing urban fabric to architectural and urban interventions.
Shifting between micro and macro levels of analysis, Building Brazil! investigates the way forward for the favelas of Jardim Colombo, Heliópolis, Cidade Ipava and Rio das Pedras. Practical design solutions for informal, risk-prone areas are situated within overarching urban strategies; and context-specific projects are complemented by editorials on the spatial, social and financial dynamics of the informal Brazilian city.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 28, 2013
Building Brazil is an interesting analysis of the main issues surrounding informality focusing specifically on Brazilian favelas. Beyond a sweeping description of issues and typologies the Master program at the ETH Zurich also provides a number of original interventions which might easily and cost-effectively improve the conditions and comforts of the favelados.
The book is perfectly organized. It starts with a general description of problems, issues, curiosities and challenges of the favelas. This part is organized like a newspaper, where you leaf through and read different "articles" ranging from urban condition analysis to Brazilian ‘baile funk’; it therefore gives a general feel of life in the favelas. Secondly the book provides a number of typologies and solutions which might be implemented in resolving typical favela problems. And finally four scenarios mix four important Brazilian favelas with the previously mentioned typologies giving practical examples of how these might work. The book works in an object-oriented fashion, maybe taking a hint from the patterns of Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language". Furthermore I thoroughly enjoyed the referencing between the typologies and the practical examples – almost reminded me of Hofstadter’s Godel, Escher, Back albeit with completely different content. I believe it makes the reader go back and forth and really get to know the positives and negatives of each solution.
I would also like to mention how even though the book deals with favelas, it gives solutions that might be easily adapted to any other kind of informal development. Recommended for anyone interested in informality.
The book is perfectly organized. It starts with a general description of problems, issues, curiosities and challenges of the favelas. This part is organized like a newspaper, where you leaf through and read different "articles" ranging from urban condition analysis to Brazilian ‘baile funk’; it therefore gives a general feel of life in the favelas. Secondly the book provides a number of typologies and solutions which might be implemented in resolving typical favela problems. And finally four scenarios mix four important Brazilian favelas with the previously mentioned typologies giving practical examples of how these might work. The book works in an object-oriented fashion, maybe taking a hint from the patterns of Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language". Furthermore I thoroughly enjoyed the referencing between the typologies and the practical examples – almost reminded me of Hofstadter’s Godel, Escher, Back albeit with completely different content. I believe it makes the reader go back and forth and really get to know the positives and negatives of each solution.
I would also like to mention how even though the book deals with favelas, it gives solutions that might be easily adapted to any other kind of informal development. Recommended for anyone interested in informality.
Displaying 1 of 1 review