Encruzilhada insurgente: Cidade das Culturas Populares como uma proposta socioecológica - 14ᵃ Bienal Internacional de Arquitetura de São Paulo

Project implementation: Brazil
Project development: Brazil

The project "City of Popular Cultures: Insurgent Crossroads" is an outreach initiative that proposes the urban and ecological redefinition of the São José neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco. Developed by students and professors from the Architecture and Urban Planning program at the Catholic University of Pernambuco, the study responds to a demand from the Popular Culture League, made up of teachers, performers, and artists who mobilized to demand a permanent space to keep their traditions and cultural activities alive in the city.

Adopting a decolonial and participatory approach, the project uses local ancestry as a structuring axis to build an architecture focused on urban resilience and climate justice. Its methodology is based on active listening and ongoing dialogue with the community, whose experiences and expectations guided every stage of the work.

The architectural intervention envisages the adaptive reuse of decommissioned railway warehouses, converting them into multifunctional centers with a museum, a gastronomic hub, a training center for traditional knowledge, and spaces for making ornaments. The design of these spaces follows principles of sustainability, with minimal and reversible interventions, lightweight materials, translucent tiles, solar panels, and preservation of native vegetation.

The project also includes the Ancestral Axis, a symbolic corridor connecting the neighborhood to the Pina Basin, honoring Afro-Indigenous heritage, as well as spaces such as the Grande Encruzilhada and the Terreiros-Arena. Aligned with SDGs 8 and 11, the proposal was discussed in a public hearing and aims to be a replicable model for cultural appreciation and urban renewal, strengthening not only communities but the entire fabric of Recife.

Team of students: Clarice Souza Leão Araújo, Iara de Menezes Cavalcanti, Ingrid Filgueira Rolim, João Guilherme Lucena de Vasconcelos, Lucas Emanuel Melo do Nascimento, Maria Julia Feitosa de Macena, Salatyel Lameque Carlos dos Santos, Taísa Cardoso de Brito, Victor Polesky de Moura Almeida

Team of Teachers/Advisors: Andrea do Nascimento Dornelas Câmara, Andrea Melo Lins Storch, Dyego da Silva Digiandomenico, Igor Villares de Carvalho, Luiz Ricardo Fonseca Marcondes, Paula Maria Wanderley Maciel do Rego Silva, Rafael Campos Rangel, Vera Christine Cavalcanti Freire.

Technical Team: João Maria, Alex Costa, Furmiga DUB, Maria Goretti, Aelson da Hora, Francisco Neto, Adriano Sobral, Beto Figueiroa

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

Insurgent Crossroads: City of Popular Cultures as a socio-ecological proposal

Catholic University of Pernambuco – UNICAP | Architecture and Urban Planning Course