LOWER EAST SIDING: Case Study: The Pedregulho Housing Complex by Cena Lu

Basic Information

The Pedregulho Housing Complex was designed by architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy in 1946, locating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Set on a steep slope, covering 50000 square meters, the complex incorporates with great creativity the principles of modern architecture and urbanism, which comprises not only apartment blocks but many social infrastructures.

Social Context

During this period of time, the post-war leftist government used architectural experiments for social change and larger political reform during the time when this project was constructed. This housing project was to designed to house families of government employees whose salaries were not high enough to buy or rent an apartment in the city.
To live in Pedregulho, a resident had to work for the local government, as well as passing the checked for diseases and agree to keep the area clean. Residents were also responsible for maintaining the whole community such as public facilities inside. To live in Pedregulho, a resident had to work for the local government, as well as passing the checked for diseases and agree to keep the area clean. Residents were also responsible for maintaining the whole community such as public facilities inside.

Social Housing Diagram

Pedregulho was premised on the idea that transitioning from rural to urban life required services and facilities beyond just housing. It includes multiple programs such as school, sport center and laundry. Because the steep topography, an underground passage system was created for the circulation.

There is a debate about the laundry that designed within this project.

The laundry was intended to provide more communal time for women lived inside, as well as prevent them from hanging clothes from the windows. However, hand washing clothes provided the women with the opportunity to socialize, something that they valued over the time saved from using the machines. As a result, the women chose to hand wash their clothes in the pool.

This story opens up an important discussion over the architect’s role in housing complexes, and in social architecture in general. Without proper research and information, architects could design spaces that are undesirable or unwanted. It also highlights the issue of designers attempting to impose upper middle class values onto a lower class.

Unit Aggregation

The serpentine building is 260-meter-long (859 ft), has total 272 housing units. The building has seven storeys in height, raised from the ground on pilotis.

On the lower levels there are 68 small one bedroom units on each floor, all with a view to the city.The upper levels contain two-story family units accessed from the fourth and sixth floors.

There are no elevators inside, all access is by stairs with entrances into the building either at ground level or at 3rd floor where two bridges connect a raised ground plane to the street. This level is partly open space and incorporates a playground, municipal offices, kindergarten and staff rooms for teachers.

Circulation and Experience

All the rooms have windows and are arranged to provide cross ventilation. The space below the building and the 3rd floor open space provide important shaded areas and air circulation. There are no elevators inside, all access is by stairs with entrances into the building either at ground level or at 3rd floor where two bridges connect a raised ground plane to the street. This level is partly open space and incorporates a playground, municipal offices, kindergarten and staff rooms for teachers.

The building looks out on the city of Rio de Janeiro, allowing the government workers to see the city that they are serving, which was also the concept of elevating the quality of life of Rio’s government workers by creating a space for them to be able to live and relax in a better environment.