DIF: Double Faced

In most urban favelas families build their own dwellings based on an illegal appropriation of land. This leads to a complete occupation of public land, without leaving any chance to develop green and community spaces. Another typical issue with this kind of settlement is the utter lack of a public infrastructure, for energy supply and sewerage. 

To cope with urban sprawling, our project permits a greater architectural density, so as to give the possibility of public green space in free areas. This idea does not mean a single building with an extreme residential density in the middle of thousands of little huts. Our proposal suggests the creation of a uniform settlement trying to find a balance between the land use and manageable spaces which are pleasing to live in.

One of the main features of a typical favela is the predominance of only residential buildings, without job opportunities and without areas where people can congregate. We propose a flexible settlement model which tackles the increasing residential demand and offers space for the aforementioned activities. Our goal is to let people congregate and work inside the settlement, in order to create a real urban tissue and not only a simple housing estate.

Shipping containers have been chosen as the main structural element to develop this setting. It is an essential prefabricated unit, which presents a simple emergency shelter. Recyclable and spread all over the world, it offers the possibility of an easy and fast assembly, setting up different spaces for several activities.

Although they are practical, shipping containers, as a standardised element, do not belong to any particular context, thus they are devoid of any inherent culture. Here, the name of our design has its roots: “Double-Faced” or “DIF”, since one of the facades showcases the rigid and repetitive piling of ship containers, while the other is built with local techniques and materials. The building is comprised of two main facades: “D”, which stands for Dwellings and “F”, which stands for Features, linked together by a central infrastructural spine, “I”.

DIF is a multi-storey building. Access to individual living spaces is facilitated by a communal balcony. In a specific space on each floor, at the building extremity, amenities such as vertical linkages, communal kitchens, laundries and workshops are located.

The “Dwelling” system is made by rows of staggered containers in order to create secondary spaces, like balconies and entrances. The size of each apartment changes with the number of containers used. From a minimum of two containers for 1 or 2 people, to a flat of three or four containers for a family of 4 or 5 members.

The “Feature” system includes a sequence of floors for horizontal linkages and secondary spaces, which each family will use to cope with the slightness of the dwellings. This is a light and permeable structure, a kind of loggia which allows sheltering from rain, filters daylight and assures natural ventilation. It can be made up of a steel, glulam or bamboo frame, with the most distinguishing shapes and features of the chosen context.

The connection between the “Dwellings” and the “Features” is the “Infrastructure”: a hollow wall which conceals all the technological plants and part of the bearing structure. Inside this wall there is the main net which brings the energy from the storage rooms (located in the attic) to every apartment. This is the reason why kitchens and bathrooms are set in the head of the containers, attached to the “infrastructure”. The attic provides not only a layer for ventilation, but also a space where water tanks and part of the photovoltaic system are collected.