Rio Doce: uma proposta de re/construção pelas águas - 14ᵃ Bienal Internacional de Arquitetura de São Paulo

Project implementation: Brazil
Project development: Brazil

Department of Architecture and Urbanism – UFES. Special Projects II (ARQ 12226). 2025/01

This proposal is a partial result of the Special Projects II course (ARQ-12226) offered by the Department of Architecture and Urbanism at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (DAU-UFES). It is a continuation of academic studies and research by faculty and students that relate water to cities. The approach is that of architectural design for urban and regional river and maritime infrastructures, seeking to address the fundamentals of multiple water uses and the comprehensive utilization of river basins. The main object of study is the Doce River—an important basin in the Southeast Hydrographic Region—which has its contribution area in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.

Historically, the Doce River valley was a route for penetration into the continent—as a natural waterway, its navigation was carried out along waterways, complemented by land routes along its banks. Successive human actions devastated the riverbanks, eliminating riparian forests and silting up the riverbed. This culminated in 2015 with the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais. This released mining waste into water bodies, contaminating the Doce River basin on a monumental scale. From Minas Gerais to Espírito Santo, a torrent of toxic mud reached Brazilian territorial waters, with impacts that are still being measured.

The proposed Rio Doce waterway encompasses the middle and lower reaches of the river, between Ipatinga (MG) and Regência (ES), connecting the Vale do Aço region to the seaports as a third transportation hub that connects to the Vitória-Minas Railway (EFVM) and the highways along the river's longitudinal slopes. The proposed main waterway is 444 km long and has a total water drop of 215 m from Ipatinga to the mouth. It features 35 Multiple Use Dams (MBDs)—32 new low-head dams and three existing dams spanned by lock ladders. The new dams—with maximum drop heights of 5 m—were designed to adapt to the urban and environmental scale of their surroundings, minimizing flooded areas along the banks and reducing the risk classification of the dams. In addition to navigation, the dams integrate functions such as low-cost power generation, environmental sanitation, riverbank connections, aquaculture/fishing, flood control, and drought relief. The main reservoirs will be complemented by feeder lakes on the tributaries, constituting an integrated infrastructure system for regulating year-round flow and recharging the basin's water resources. The flooded areas can also be used for public sustainable water use programs in positive partnerships with riverside communities. The waterway also opens up opportunities for environmental education, recreation, sports, and river tourism along the reforested banks, improving the coexistence of riverside communities.

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.

Rio Doce: a proposal for re/construction through the waters

Federal University of Espírito Santo