Architecture Students from the University Are Training in Social Housing in Brazil

Thirteen architecture students from the University of Navarra participated in the first in-person workshop organized by Foro America in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Under the degree scroll , “Living Outside,” the students explored the possibilities of social housing through the lens of architecture.

The workshop is an initiative of Foro América, a partnership agreement between the School of Architecture the University of Navarra and the Pan-American Federation of Architects’ Associations (FPAA), and was supported by the Brazilian Institute of Architects, the Spanish Embassy in Brazil, the Cervantes Institute, and the Basque Government. The initiative involved students and faculty from the University of Navarra, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), the University of Lima, and the Catholic University of Santa Fe (UCSF).

The workshop began with an “ lecture ” by Pablo García Astrain, “ Director ” of Residential Planning and Urban Development for the Basque Government, who presented the Basque Housing “ model ” as a European benchmark in social housing. The “ training ” was then rounded out with other presentations on housing.

Students from the University of Navarra and from Argentina, Peru, and Brazil put into internship what they had learned during the lectures through a short exercise on a plot of land near the favelas of Rio. “There, we designed social housing while taking into account the local context and the characteristics of the existing building,” explains Carmen Martínez, an architecture student. The participants explored the boundaries between community and privacy, an experience that made them realize that “housing needs can vary greatly depending on the location and social and economic conditions. That’s why it’s important to seek new ways of living and make the most of existing spaces,” says María Esteller, an architecture student.

Architecture in the Face of the Housing Crisis

The “ goal ” of this first visit by contact was to discover new, intermediate ways of living. “Social housing in Rio de Janeiro is very different from what they’re used to in Spain; there, much of daily life takes place outdoors, and seeing it up close has forced them to question some of their preconceived notions,” explains Gabriela Bastos, a professor at the University of Navarra.

Touring the site allowed the students to “understand that context isn’t just the plot of land, but also the people, their customs, and the way they use spaces.” “The ‘ visit ’ has helped us understand architecture from a more human perspective, placing living and home at the center,” explains Carmen Martínez. “Although our profession cannot solve the housing problem on its own, it plays a decisive role in the quality of what is built and how people live. This is demonstrated by the proposals presented, which better respond to the way Cariocas live,” explains the professor.

A group exercise

This workshop serves as an introduction to an exercise on social housing that students from these and other Latin American universities will carry out using the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) format through Foro América. This collective perspective on social housing allows students “to learn about different points of view and financial aid to step outside our usual way of working,” explains María Esteller.