The project aims to reconcile and conceive housing adapted to the needs posed by an informal city. Thus, it is built upon the mixed use of activities and the condensation of trades and necessities required by the location. The project achieves a cross-cutting impact through its status as a consolidated center. Housing the understands domestic self-sufficiency as rooted and intertwined with the city, conceiving economic self-sufficiency through the relationship between productive units, commercial spaces, and the city itself.
Seeking alternative living arrangements, the project explores the dialogue between individual trades and housing. Productive units are arranged on the ground floor as part of the residences, establishing a dialogue between the first and second levels. Cells where each inhabitant’s condition shapes a collective space follow the concept of various layers of privacy proposed by the informal city.
We collaborated with the community of artisans established in the neighborhood, sharing knowledge to develop the construction of a pink resin staircase that helped overcome the height of an artificial topography, allowing continuous connection of the project with the city. The building is thus conceived as a large inhabited staircase that allows different ways of navigating and engaging with its workshop, domestic, and urban activities.