The fluid territory: notes from the edge of the city

Boston Architectural College

Project implementation: Brazil
Project development: USA

Student: Rodrigo Gallardo

The Fluid Territory explores the city beyond maps, the one that exists in the memory, experience, and untold stories of its inhabitants. In Vargem Grande, on the outskirts of São Paulo, this difference becomes evident: maps show it as an urban fragment amidst the forest, but daily life reveals another reality, marked by precarious housing, a lack of support in schools, and a territory lived between fear and oblivion of nature.

The project emerged from dialogue with residents and the presence of the Guarani, recognizing that the territory is shared between different worlds: the Jurua, who arrived in search of housing, and the indigenous people, whose worldview offers other ways of living. Rather than imposing closed responses, the interventions propose open conditions capable of accommodating the diversity of voices and needs.

At school, narrow corridors and hot metal rooms give way to meeting spaces where knowledge circulates beyond the walls. In homes, what was once instability is transformed into structures that strengthen the permanence and dignity of their residents. The forest, once feared and distant, is reconnected by trails and paths that invite use, coexistence, and collective memory.

The work doesn't seek definitive solutions, but rather to open up possibilities. It's about thinking of architecture as a listening tool, capable of bringing to light what already exists latently: the strength of community, shared memory, and the coexistence of different ways of life. If every city is a palimpsest of overlapping histories, here the architectural gesture is not to erase, but to reveal.

More than constructing buildings, it is about creating conditions so that new paths can be opened, paths in which the school, the home and the forest cease to be isolated fragments and become part of the same collective fabric.

We thank everyone who participated and visited the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, from September 18 to October 19, 2025

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.