Description
As part of two field studies in South America, students investigated the realities of life in marginalised districts of São Paulo and Santiago de Chile. The aim was to analyse informal urban practices and gain impetus for sustainable, community-based urban development.
Project Partners
Date
Project Goal
Exploring the urban reality beyond official urban planning – through direct cooperation with local communities – and deriving alternative strategies for architecture, urban development and education.
Execution
Local partnerships with initiatives such as ‘Cidade Sem Medo’ (SP) and ‘Techo’ (Santiago) Field studies, interviews, mapping and workshops with residents Development of spatial interventions and concepts in co-creation processes Reflections in the form of texts, drawings, models, film and digital formats
Challenges
- Complexity of informal structures
- Communication with community actors
- Working in unfamiliar, challenging social and spatial conditions
- Translating experiences into architectural concepts and teaching
Special Achievments
Building genuine relationships with the communities (e.g. Paraisópolis in SP & Campamento Bajos de Mena in Santiago) Visualising local knowledge systems and survival strategies Concrete creative responses to real challenges (such as scarcity of space, lack of infrastructure, segregation) Integration of research results into teaching - as a model for future transdisciplinary, participatory educational formats
Summary
The real success, however, was the change in perspective:
The students didn’t just learn something about cities – they learnt to see the city through the eyes of others, to question themselves and to reflect on their own actions in global contexts.
This project was therefore a living example of transcultural education, radical listening and sustainable creative responsibility.
