Tectonic marginal discourse
from the beginnin
That is why it is grounded in a social and historical understanding of the elites.
According to Marina Waisman, there is a need for Latin American countries to adopt their own language that is not subject to foreign influences. In order to value our culture, the author argues that, in the face of external influences, these should be incorporated with adaptations to local characteristics, particularly emphasizing a culture of materiality frequently employed by Latin American countries. Although the author initially focused more on suggesting a different perspective on modernism, as the text progresses, she delves increasingly into the concepts of “center” and “periphery” or “margins.” The author further argues that, when discussing the independence of countries supposedly peripheral to those with a hegemonic culture, it is more appropriate to use the term “regions,” as it does not imply subordination. If we consider the classifications of center and periphery within our own country, or even within the city of Rio de Janeiro itself, this perspective demonstrates how these places—which would be considered the city’s peripheries—are in fact subordinate to the logic of the center or of the most prominent urban centers in the rest of the world. Despite the fact that the favelas are, more than ever, regions that give rise to their own distinct architectural expression.
This is especially true today, given the current situation in Rio de Janeiro regarding public safety and the high rates of violence in the state, perpetrated by both the police and criminals. Added to this is the lack of state support for structural issues such as basic sanitation, public policies, and any form of assistance that should be provided by the state. And due to the unchecked growth of cities and the proliferation of informal settlements, favelas have come to be viewed as an urban social problem and are ultimately seen as an urban phenomenon that needs to be eradicated. Many people describe favelas as a cancer on the city. As if the favela were an inhumane environment and as if the people living in the favela were either not human or subhuman. It can also be said that, often, all of the city’s social problems—including those that have absolutely nothing to do with informal settlements—end up being attributed to the favelas, such as the presence of street markets or illicit commerce in major cities, for example.
And so, they end up being the target of fake news or highly unsubstantiated reports about violence, crime, and pollution of any kind. They end up being targets/hostages; in all circumstances, they end up being hostages of society, and consequently, the residents also end up becoming hostages within society, forcing them to live under terrible conditions—in housing, work, transportation, and healthcare. And consequently, within the social structure, people end up being looked down upon.
translating the feeling
And that’s when the word “favela” becomes a verb: to favelize, favelization, favelized, etc. And when the word becomes a verb, in this social context, the favela takes on the character of a phenomenon. It comes to be attributed to a phenomenon (in the very field of phenomenology). When we start to view the favela as a phenomenon, we can raise a few points. When it is seen as a phenomenon, it can take on various forms: social, which is more related to the characteristics of the favela’s social organization or to its having its own social structure; urban, affective, psychological—in short, it can take on a form in every area of knowledge. Except for physical nature, or mathematical nature, or nature related to the natural sciences. Because, after all, any law of nature can be applied anywhere in the world. When it comes to artistic nature, we already have a very strong presence in various areas. The favelas have made a massive contribution to all artistic fields, especially with funk, which is one of the most popular music genres in the world. It’s easy to see artists from the favelas performing all over the world. Samba, for example, didn’t necessarily originate in the favela, but it is historically closely linked to the stories of these settlements.When we talk about visual art, for example, there are numerous contributions from the favelas to cinema, in a variety of incredible films—some of which have even won awards—that were inspired by favelas or based on stories from Rio’s communities. We can also see painters whose work is well-established and who use the favelas as inspiration for their art. So yes, they are a very powerful source of inspiration for art. However, when we talk about the architecture of the favelas, they aren’t recognized as architecture. Even though they’re capable of producing their own architecture, their own identity. In the field of architecture, for example, they are often associated with the word “problem”; there is always a search for a way to resolve or solve a problem present in the communities. A problem that they produce as if it were merely a problem that needs to be solved. And then we return to the issue, mentioned earlier, of it being viewed as a social problem. Currently, in fact, this perspective has become even stronger.
the main point
However, favelas are a rich source of architectural production that has yet to be discussed or recognized. For example, favelas are typically densely built, with clustered dwellings that facilitate direct contact between neighbors. Neighbors above, below, to the side, and across the way can see and socialize with one another. To get to your home in the favela, for example, you pass by many neighbors’ homes. So it’s very difficult for a resident, for instance, to arrive home without greeting people on the street, because there’s direct contact. Even between the street and the home—and that’s a really cool thing, necessary for a sense of community, which isn’t found in the rest of the city. The rest of the city is full of more individualized housing, where neighbors don’t know each other, don’t talk to each other, don’t even look at each other. Another thing that’s common in many communities is that the settlements have a very strong connection to the street. Whether it’s a house, a store, or any other type of building. And this is important because it brings greater vitality to the street and greater vitality to the internal spaces of these settlements. It creates an urban vibrancy that is often sought after in planning or architectural projects but ends up not being achieved. As a result, favelas are very well-suited to building this kind of infrastructure. Furthermore, they accommodate a wide range of people’s individual circumstances. If you analyze the profile of people living in favelas, it’s very diverse; there are people from all over the place living in these communities, living in favelas. This includes people of international origin. Of course, most people are Brazilian, but there is a very wide range of housing possibilities within the community. There are people living in extreme poverty, middle-class people, lower-middle-class people, people from the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. There are people from all over Brazil. Favelas are able to bring all these people together in the same place, enjoying the same things, using the same facilities, the same shops, and walking the same sidewalks. These kinds of relationships are not easily fostered in other types of housing in the city. Generally, if we look at an apartment building, the people living there tend to have very similar socioeconomic backgrounds. People earn salaries—I won’t say exactly the same, but within a very narrow range. Sometimes there’s a slightly larger difference, but it’s not as diverse as in the favelas. This type of characteristic in housing is very important because Brazil is, in fact, a very heterogeneous country, so we need spaces that are compatible with as many people as possible. Furthermore, in communities we can talk about constructive processes.
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We see that communities make very interesting use of architectural and construction elements. It’s common for residents to repurpose materials from large construction projects or other sites to create new things. They manage to reuse materials to make different items or even use discarded materials to build things inside their homes. Often, this can also involve materials that aren’t necessarily intended for construction, but which solve many construction-related issues. So, we can see solutions in homes using a variety of materials. Even as a child, I witnessed people in the favela where I live reusing materials from the trash and transforming them into furniture, building elements, objects, and accessories. People who have almost nothing— have no home, no proper food, and lack basic health and sanitation conditions—make use of pieces of wood and fabric to build a sofa, use discarded buckets and other containers as plant pots, use clothing as floor coverings, and even broken floor tiles discarded at construction sites are reused as flooring inside the house, bricks as benches, and wire to secure parts of the roof structure. These actions by people, despite reflecting precarious social conditions, lead one to believe that there is a possibility for a better world—one that is more sustainable, more ecological, and more human as well.
a good example
This type of activity has become deeply ingrained in our culture; it’s commonly referred to as a “gambiarra”—a term with roots in theater history that refers to makeshift installations or solutions in our culture. Although they’re improvised by nature, gambiarras often solve a problem. Often, there’s no exact solution to a problem. And a gambiarra ends up solving the problem, once and for all. We can see many communities using trash materials to build. For example, using plastic bottles to build roofs, coverings, or enclosures. They use wood to build something at home, create a permanent structure, make an enclosure, or even build an entire house. So this creativity among residents to build—to create truly innovative solutions—is very common, you know? Innovative—that’s the word—because it’s something new that doesn’t exist. And besides being innovative solutions, they use materials found in their surroundings to create architecture. Although these materials are often dangerous or unsuitable for such activities. Reusing these materials is very interesting, and it really just proves that community residents are generally very creative people.
Naturally creative, culturally creative, capable of devising their own construction processes or architectural solutions. Another skill that is very common in these communities is the optimal use of space. Often, there is a very small space that needs to accommodate a complex program. And in these communities, a small space manages to accommodate the entire program, for example. Sometimes you have very little space to build a house, and the residents manage to build a house in a very small space. A house that would often require more space to be built ends up being built in a much smaller space, making better use of the space. In the favelas, then, you realize that residents have a knack for finding spatial solutions for small spaces—where one wouldn’t even imagine a solution for that. Unfortunately, these solutions arise out of necessity—unfortunately due to the lack of financial means to afford a larger space for a home, for example. But on the other hand, building under these circumstances, despite the conditions, is indeed a talent.
last notes
The knowledge found in the favelas can indeed serve as excellent references in the field of architecture. Personally, I have been dedicated to incorporating spatial qualities inspired by the communities of Rio de Janeiro into my work. I believe that favelas possess excellent architectural qualities, and I strive to demonstrate this in my work, introducing entirely new perspectives to academia and raising questions that encourage us to rethink the field of architecture and envision a more humane city, where the social relationships and sustainability inherent in the community serve as vital pillars for a healthier and more ecological reality.
This raises questions about understanding these community spaces as the creators of a specific, local tectonic system capable of self-expression, given that the use of these construction techniques is common in many communities. It is important not only to develop a theoretical framework for this architectural expression but also to create new methods for producing architecture. Validating the architectural identity of favelas as an example of sustainable and innovative architecture. By understanding that these places possess their own characteristic of architectural expression and in order to recognize these places as subjects of a tectonic manifestation, it is possible to draw connections with concepts in the field of architecture. By noting that this space is configured according to needs, one can say that this place is intensely related to what Kenneth Frampton values in the sense that the architectural object possesses a character of exploration (Frampton, 1965), creating environments in accordance with the path and experience of the human body within the site—not merely a representational character of forms that constitute a visually pleasing harmony—since this local expression emerges organically from the residents themselves in response to their own bodily experience within the space.
This process creates indeterminate spaces that take on different uses over time. It is an organic, dynamic, subjective, community-oriented, and pluralistic architecture, born out of necessity. In light of these analyses, it is clear that these unplanned spaces also offer an architectural expression worthy of appreciation, with many lessons to be learned from a design perspective. This nuanced perspective is just as important from a professional standpoint—in understanding a site’s context and knowing how to adapt to its characteristics in the event of a potential intervention project that fosters a relationship with residents—as it is for valuing these marginalized spaces as creators of architecture. Of course, one cannot compare architecture created by community residents with the education architects receive in universities, but it is interesting to see how the diversity of materials and spatiality present in the favelas can create such rich spatial experiences that bring people together—something many trained architects fail to achieve in their own work.