Project implementation: Brazil
Project development: Brazil
The Comedor project – a soup kitchen – was created in response to the extreme weather events that devastated numerous cities in southern Brazil in May 2024 and the need to improve the conditions of emergency shelters that housed homeless people during this period.
Built at the Ana Neri State School in Porto Alegre, the project begins with a temporary intervention in the auditorium building—a small wooden structure, characteristic of the region's school architecture. Lightweight partitions—curtains suspended by steel cables—were installed in this space to delimit specific areas for each family and adapt the pavilion's use, providing greater privacy and habitability.
In a second stage of the intervention, with the return of classes at school, it was necessary to build a cafeteria for the temporary residents – a new building – that would function independently of the flow of students.
The proposed architecture therefore consists of a large roof and a linear table that occupy an empty sector of the school lot.
The choice of wood construction is part of an investigation that, in some way, permeates the projects developed by the office. It is a way to demonstrate the possibilities of using a low-cost, easily obtainable raw material that takes into account the existence of a local workforce with experience and significant practical knowledge of the material.
In this way, the proposal explores wood as an agile and economical construction technique with the choice of more accessible components, such as round eucalyptus wood for the main columns and beams and a structure of thin slats to support the roof.
To unify the intervention and the various wooden pieces, the green paint unifies the proposal, highlighting the roof within the school's built structure. The wood-protecting impregnating paint helps preserve the material and conceal minor imperfections, keeping the grain visible. The green structure interacts with the white polycarbonate tiles, creating a diffusely lit environment.
The project, initially conceived to serve as a dining hall for families, over time became a leisure space for students, a collective and community space.
Thus, the intervention led to a series of surprising interactions and uses. A playful space, which is used as a place for children to play, and even as a learning tool, where classes are taught outdoors.
The project represents an experiment in design and construction in a short period of time, a simple contribution – among so much to be done – as a response to this immense and unthinkable tragedy.
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Porto Alegre, RS
2024