FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY the beginning of a dictionary of objects, spaces and notions, found in favelas complexes in brazil published at S.L.U.M LAB /issue 8/fall 2013/ETH D-ARCH
Mar 09, 2016
S.L.U.M. LAB / issue 8 / fall 2013
FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY
the beginning of a dictionary of objects,
spaces
and notions, found in favelas complexes in
brazil
published at S.L.U.M LAB /issue 8/fall 2013/ETH D-ARCH
B R I C K [1]
A clay element created in a form and hardened in a
rectangular unit so that it can be multiplied and create
a bigger structure. In favelas the bricks create walls,
and if repeated, walls create houses. Houses, multiplied
and repeated, form street fronts and neighborhoods.
The multiplication of a small constructive unit creates a
structural pattern that spreads and formulates the favela
structure. ░
THE PATTERN:
A pattern is an original object used to make copies, or a set of
repeating objects in a decorative design and in other disciplines.
Favelas seem to be formed by a superposition of different patterns ,
with the repetition of objects, motives and layers.
PENDANT [2] Steel rods projecting from
reinforced concrete elements,
indicating the possibility of
the structure being continued.
In favelas the pendant
becomes a common image,
it is seen on the roofs of
one- or two- floor houses,
usually combined with a
temporary canopy ░. It is the result
of the continuous process of self-construction. Each
self-made house covers the immediate needs of the
people constructing it, and therefore there is the need
for flexibility and potential transformation . As a result,
the “pendants” of the concrete columns are left exposed,
waiting to receive the next floor , indicating a system
of ongoing transformation. It is a dynamic system in
continuous change and mutation.
THE TRANSFORMATION
The process of changing form and characteristics. It is related to
transition, mutation, evolution, and transfiguration. A system under
transformation is a dynamic system, receiving forces and tensions
that lead to its transition toward a new situation. Favelas constitute
a system under continuous transformation and evolution, where
multiple forces and actors influence the procedure of change.
THE UNFINISHED
An object is considered unfinished when it hasn’t yet arrived
to its final form. A situation is considered unfinished when it
hasn’t reached an end. “Unfinished” has evident characteristics
that reveal its constructional procedure and permit a range of
potential interpretations and evolutions. In favelas, the state of the
“unfinished’ is permanent, yet creating an integrated image; the
image of a pending completition.
WINDOW [3] A transparent or translucent opening in a wall that allows
the passage of light and air. A window is held by a frame,
and its porosity is defined by the material that covers it
(i.e glass, cobogo, curtain). A window needs a wall in
order to exist. Its presence declares the establishment
of communication between exterior and interior. Its
absence means an unbreakable limit.
Windows differ among civilizations, as they reveal
characteristics of cultural identity, materializing the
limit and the relation of private and public space.
In favelas, windows are particular. Embodied in the
brick walls, they maintain almost the same size and
proportions creating a motif, a pattern in favelas
images. Windows are supposed to define the limit and
the relation between public and private space. However
this is an issue under continuous negotiation in favelas.
Therefore, the “window” placed on the fragile limit of
private and public, becomes a peculiar object, a space of
continuous redefinition. Sometimes, it is not respected
and a new wall comes to block it. Other times it is
appropriated by the life of the space where it belongs, and
it becomes the frame of private moments, revealing a
hanging birdcage, fresh washed clothes, or decorations.
However, it’s not rare for its use to be questioned
and appropriated as a thin slice of interstitial space
between public
and private. In some of
these cases, it is
transformed ░
to a sitting space,
a meeting point,
a shop or a pub.
CORRUGATED CANOPY [4] Light-weight cover with characteristic wave-geometry,
made out of corrugated zink, aluminium, or copper.
Known as CGI (corrugated galvanized iron). Because of its
structure and attributes it can be used easily and quickly
for constructing a roof or a small canopy. Corrugated
metal is widespread in favelas . It forms canopies to
entrances, covers to yards between houses or open-air
rooms, covered spaces on the roofs or over exterior stairs
leading to upper floors. Spaces that are neither open nor
closed, spaces at the edges, instant and transitional. ░
INTERSTICE [5]
A gap or a space left empty between spaces full of structure
or matter. Found as interstice or interstitial space.
Favelas are very dense. The built mass, being aggressive
and conquering the void, becomes proportionally
prevailing. However, the interstices, found unexpectedly
between solid and concrete masses, allow views and
Erasmo Valeria / Markaki Metaxia / Tsikas Apostolis
S.L.U.M. LAB / issue 8 / fall 2013
At first sight a favela seems to be a strange homogeneous complex; an
ever-expanding compact mass that extends without a specific structure
or organization; a chaotic form where rules and order are difficult to be
recognized. However, looking closer at a favela, different structural elements
begin to appear. The “Favela Pocket Dictionary” is based on observations
made in the informal part of the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
It is an effort to decode the visual and the spatial language of a favela,
decomposing it to objects, spaces, and notions, that although already known
to us, in a favela context they aquire special meanings. The current article is
the beginning of a collection, to be continued through the development of
a platform for collecting and archiving favelas constitutional elements, the
http://favelapocketdictionary.tumblr.com
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THE DICTIONARY
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR READERS
This dictionary contains three different writings and therefore three
parallel readings. The BLUE terms: which are abstract terms related
to favelas. The BLACK terms: which are everyday objects found in
favelas. The SYMBOLS: which are small icons that create references
between objects and abstract terms, formulating a cross-reading of
the text. In this way, the reader can create its own path in the article
similar to the path that is traced when walking in a favela.
FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY1
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frame further perspectives. The
interstices are the spaces through which
light, air, view, water and even
infrastructures penetrate in the favela
dense aggregate . And although feeble,
intimate, and fragile, they become one of
the strongest elements in favela’s streets. ░ ░
THE TRANSITIONAL AND THE TRANSITORY:
Terms describing the absence of defined spatial character and time
identity. Spaces with imprecise limits, spaces in-between private and
public, open and closed, permanent use and instant appropriation.
This kind of spaces create an ambiguous and non-precise
environment where its everyday redefinition and appropriation by
the inhabitants form its spatial characteristics.
WATER TANK [6]
A cylindrical concrete or plastic container used to
store water. It is present on almost every rooftop in the
favelas, where it is used as a support to the existing
water supply system, creating extra water pressure. It is
an element of the denuded favela infrastructural system.
Along with the evident water pipes on walls, the electric
cables running over the streets and the open sewage
systems, in favelas most infrastructural elements are
not carefully hidden, but instead they are uncovered
and revealed in the streets . As in the development of
favelas, in which first the houses were built and then the
networks arrived the development of a water system was
also reversed. The infrastructural
system has been placed last,
precariously, evident
on the facades and
in the public sphere.
STAIRS [7]A construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance
by dividing it into smaller vertical distances called steps.
Often found in favelas, stairs enable vertical movement
into the tissue, on one hand connecting the multilevel
platforms of the private houses, and on the other hand
creating a public pedestrian road network that follows
natural topography. Generally they are combined with
open-air rainwater runoff channels. The public stair
network, composed of multi-fragmented levels, by
definition excludes vehicles and offers the potential for
different ways of appropriation . The stairs in favelas
constitute almost a sculptural element. Running along the
streets, they enter the houses, climb floors, and exit again
on rooftops. It seems as if they tie together the public and
private sphere with one continuous gesture. Although
in favelas every void is conquered and squatted, the stairs
and the passages are
valuable and well respected.
In addition, they become poles
of social life where people play
cards, drink or dance. It seems
as if the space they lack in their
interiors is placed in the streets
and transformed to
a community living. ░
SELF-APPROPRIATION:
Procedure through which people occupy space, either with
activities or with built structures, extending the limits of their vital
space. Privatization is a form of appropriation including issues of
ownership. The appropriation is an underlying force and the
constructive mechanism of a favela’s built environment and
common life.
EXTRA SMALL:
Last unit of the scale XL L M S XS. Indicates the minimum dimensions
used for vital activities in favelas because of the lack of space.
HANGING LAUNDRY [8]
Colorful and multi-shape
fabrics hanging on houses
or public spaces after being
washed. Elements of very intimate use and character like
sheets and socks exit the domestic zone and become a
constructive element of the identity of a favela street.
Hanging clothes have both a theatrical and revealing
aspect. Near the bricks and the pendants they create a
fluid and colorful layer ░ indicating people’s identities
and their tendency to extend to public sphere , self-
appropriate, and construct their space according to their
needs. ░
FAVELAS_
A valuable space for a collector of objects, terms, and meanings. A
complex system with ambiguous and contradicting inner structure
that could not easily be determined and listed in a pocket dictionary.
However, a dictionary could be the start of a map to enter through
a favela’s interstices and explore this aggregate of forms, situations
and conditions. [d]
http://favelapocketdictionary.tumblr.com
the beginning of a platform for collecting and archiving objects /
terms / meanings in complex aggregates as favelas
REFERENCES
1. Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, A Pattern
Language, Towns, Buildings, Construction. , N.Y, Oxford Press, 1977
2. Anne Mikoleit, Moritz Purckhauer, Urban Code, 100 lesson for
Understanding the City, Cambridge, MIT press, 2011
3. Z.Baladrian-V.Havranek, Atlas of Transformation, Prague, Tranzit, 2000
*pictures from the personal archive of the authors
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S.L.U.M. LAB / issue 8 / fall 2013
FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY 8
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S.L.U.M. LAB / issue 8 / fall 2013
http://favelapocketdictionary.tumblr.com
an open platform for collecting and archiving objects, meanings and notions
related to complex aggregates as favelas