Open spaces and housing: from design conception to residents\' appropriation

Author(s)

Camila Mariana Gonçalves Vieira da Rocha

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD)
• Defense date: 2020-05-06

Examining board members

Lúcia Zanin Shimbo; Antonio Júlio Marques Baptista Coelho; Luciana Bongiovanni Martins Schenk; Jonathas Magalhães Pereira da Silva

• Advisor: Lúcia Zanin Shimbo

Abstract

The discussions present in the literature about the importance of open spaces in the integration between housing and the city and in the dynamization of the sociability of its residents, motivate this research, which analyzes the architectural design on a scale still little investigated in housing production: between the housing private unit space and the city public spaces. Therefore, it emphasizes the role of collective open areas in this intermediation and in the dimension of everyday life. Its main objective is to investigate the relationship between the architectural and urban design and the subsequent appropriations by residents of the open spaces of multifamily housing. With the object of housing projects built between 2007 and 2016 in the state of São Paulo, six projects were selected, two located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo and four in its countryside. Initially, it searches for the legal and normative requirements of the housing programs that guide the residential developments, as well as analyzes the project guidelines that conducted the design of open spaces, such as proportions and the items present in the design of these spaces. In a second moment, with the scope restricted to Social Housing projects, it tries to assess the appropriation by the residents, identifying whether there is a potential use of their open spaces for leisure or there are processes of abandonment or modifications regarding the program foreseen in the design. This research\'s type is qualitative, combining different methods. The bibliographic review allows an overview of the discussions on housing policy, quality in housing projects, ownership by residents, and design of open spaces, in addition to provide the basis for scrips for the data collection and analysis of the designs and the appropriation of open space. Methodologically, the elaboration of the scripts contributes to the detailed study of open spaces, allowing to investigate how the execution and design of these spaces in the projects were carried out and their influence on the collective and conditional life of the residents of these housing. The documentary research improves the parameters for the definition of adopted housing projects and information on architectural and urban designs. The field research, carried out through behavioral observation and interviews with architects and residents, supports the analyzes of the design and the appropriation of open spaces. As a main result, the main factors present in the architectural and urban design that influence the collective life of the studied housing were identified. Therefore, this work tries to collaborate for a discussion about the importance of open and collective spaces in multifamily housing. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/10396-0 - Open spaces in housing design: architecture conception and residents' appropriation
• Grantee: Camila Mariana Gonçalves Vieira da Rocha
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master