Gourmet spaces in Brazilian homes: Children of a "pregnant widow"? (original) (raw)
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Brazilian contemporary kitchens: core or backstage?
Proceedings of the 13 th Space Syntax Symposium , 2022
This paper addresses socio-spatial changes concerning kitchens in three contemporary building types that predominate as residential options within middling to upper social spheres in Brazil: houses occupying individual plots; houses in gated condominiums; and speculative flat units in high-rise blocks. The investigated cases inform about change and continuity concerning habits and ways of
PROCEEDINGS 11th INTERNATIONAL SPACE SYNTAX SYMPOSIUM
This study seeks to further knowledge about Brazilian homes by addressing the spatial reorganisation of a vernacular residence, as it was adapted to changing lifestyles along a century and over three generations of dwellers from a same family. The house was built in the 1920s in a rural area in Northeast Brazil as the main residence in a farmstead – now no longer a productive unit. It is currently used as a residence by the second generation of landowners and as a holiday place by the family’s third generation and their children. Morphological aspects of geometrical (shape, size, position) and topological (accessibility, visibility) natures, as well as space labels and functions were analysed in diachronic perspective, in the light of narratives and views of some of the house’s dwellers about the successive conversions suffered by the spatial arrangement and how spaces were used then and now. Results point out that relations amongst inhabitants – family and servants – and between them and visitors were altered by subtle changes in those morphological aspects, following tendencies that predominated in Brazilian homes at certain times (some of them also elsewhere), and particular needs of the family. Among aspects turned mainstream at a certain epoch in our domestic architecture: (i) the space used for family meals has become highly accessible and visible in post-colonial society, signalling social openness and less reclusiveness of women, and (ii) the growing seclusion of bedrooms and number of shower/toilet (often en suite) facilities follow contemporary requisites of privacy and body care. The change from a farming support unit to a family residence in the 1980s required less complex, more practical service-related spaces whereas its increasing role as a holiday house, demanded the enlargement and higher visibility of gathering spaces, such as the verandas. It was, therefore, seen that within a minimally altered built shell (the container), the spatial structure (its content) was radically transformed to give expression and physical support to changing modes of life, and that such changes related, at once, to the ways Brazilian homes were – sensu lato – topologically reshaped in time, as well as to the specific needs of successive generations of householders in this case. This interplay of genotypical and phenotypical properties tells about Brazilian lifestyles in the context of middling socioeconomic groups, adding up to the corps of case studies that have been using configuration analysis to unveil the spatial soul of Brazilian homes.
Domestic space between modernity and tradition
2003
A group of 27 middle class houses, located in Brasilia, Brazil, has been analysed by means of Space Syntax categories. The investigation is determine whether it is possible to characterise a "middle class domestic code", by contrast with codes which have been studied elsewhere. Also, if such a code is related somehow to the socalled exacerbation of individuality as a dominant social value, and how this might be reflected in the house. Might the configuration of these houses constitute a "vernacular" way of constituting domestic space, as opposed to "erudite" modes of space organisation? "Vernacular", in this paper, is understood as a certain way of organising space that differs from the ways adopted by "professional knowledge". It does not mean that such code refers, exclusively, to people of lower income levels. Comparison was made using data from recent research, involving the theory of Space Syntax and other methodologies, done in Brazil and abroad. It contributes to a "fine-tuning" of the presence of people in the various rooms of domestic space in time, and this in two senses: which spaces are used for longer or shorter periods of time, and which spaces are characterised by rather intense co-presence (sort of "family-rooms"), in contrast with others that are characterised by more individual usage. Some new ways of seeing the presence/absence of people in the various places within the house have been depicted, as well as some long lasting ways of using spaces that date back to colonial times.
My bedroom, my world: domestic space between modernity and tradition
A group of 27 middle class houses, located in the Brasilia, Brazil, has been analysed by means of Space Syntax categories. It is investigated whether it is possible to characterise a “middle class domestic code”, by contrast with codes which have been studied elsewhere. Also, if such a code would be related somehow to the so-called exacerbation of individuality as a dominant social value, and how this might be reflected in the house. It was asked whether the configuration of these houses might constitute a “vernacular” way of constituting domestic space, as opposed to “erudite” modes of space organisation. “Vernacular”, in this paper, is understood as a certain way of organising space that differs from the ways adopted by “professional knowledge”. Also, it does not mean that such code refers, exclusively, to people of lower income levels. Comparison was made using data from recent research, involving the theory of Space Syntax and other methodologies, done in Brazil and abroad. It contributes to a “finetuning” of the presence of people in the various rooms of domestic space in time, and this in two senses: which spaces are used for longer or shorter periods of time, and which spaces are characterised by rather intense co-presence (sort of “family-rooms”), in contrast with others that are characterised by more individual usage. Some new ways of presence/absence of places within the house have been depicted, as well as some long lasting ways in using spaces that date back to colonial times.
The production of common spaces in buildings of Vila Viva at ‘Aglomerado da Serra’, Brazil
AESOP, 2017
The production of space in Brazilian ‘favelas’ is spontaneous, continuous and self- produced - and often, self-built. There is a diversity of uses of public and private spaces, such as everyday life, work and play. The occupation process is precarious and requires an active procedure in interaction among neighbourhood residents to improve common facilities. The existence of ‘favelas’ comes from the process of exclusion of the working class in Brazilian cities. Belo Horizonte, capital of one of the most populous states in Brazil, is a planned city that was only established 119 years ago, and yet has multiple illegal occupations. Since the beginning of its construction there was no space in the urban zone for the builders. In the history of the city, the state has tried to change ‘favelas’, with removals or transformation of the spaces where poor people live. In 2005, the construction works of the Vila Viva Programme for urbanization begins in Aglomerado da Serra, one of the biggest ‘favelas’ in the city. It includes the planning and paving of a four-lane road - without taking into account the interests of the local population and removing a large part of the dwellers -, creation of parks - that prohibited popular access and were abandoned - and the construction of buildings. The buildings were constructed to resettle a small part of the original dwellers of Aglomerado da Serra that were removed. The production of spaces is a heteronomous process, as it is with formal city. The adjustment of people that used to live in ‘favelas’ to life in these buildings is difficult and many of them sell the apartments even before the distribution of contracts. They miss the plants and the raising of animals that played a part in their domestic economy. Kids are not allowed to stay in the streets that lead to the buildings, as they used to do in the ‘favelas’. There is no place in the houses to have parties or barbecues on the weekends, which was common before. The markets are very far from the buildings, creating everyday life problems, and people are not allowed to conduct any economic activities in the buildings. However, life in the ‘favela’ was transformed with Vila Viva, creating new necessities, such as the use of cars. In spite of the prohibitions of the Program, after the implementation of Vila Viva the dwellers are still producing spaces. New uses, adaptations and even interventions are remodelling the heteronomous space. Children use the entrance of the buildings to play and some people have even started to sell products and services at home with plaques to announce their activity. Some transformations of space have begun to emerge, like accommodation of common spaces for plants, animals and barbecues. People come up with solutions for the creation of new roofs and seats with the materials they have at their disposal. Forms of privatization of these common spaces are present too, such as parking spaces and mechanic services. In order to better understand the maker culture implicit in the interventions in the everyday spaces already taking place, this paper describes an action-reserach I am conducing with a few dwellers at Aglomerado da Serra. Drawing from Michel Thiollent we are promoting actions and seminars with the engagement of the dwellers to identify in which degree such interventions are transgressive and in which degree they promote relevant changes in everyday conditions. The research has a visual approach, with photographic essays.
The Kitchen: An Architectural Mirror of Everyday Life and Societal Development
This paper is part of a research project that analyses trends in housing architecture over the past 100 years. The research aims toshow how changing norms and new forms of everyday life have altered our views on housing and have led to fundamental changes in housing architecture. In this paper the analysis focuses particularly on the kitchen. A hundred years ago the kitchen of the bourgeoisie and the middleclass was only used by servants and other employees. Accordingly, the design of the kitchen was not a task for architects at all. However, during the 20th century the kitchen became an important architectural focal point. In the early part of the century architects considered it a practical workspaceto beimproved through rational analysis. Later on the kitchen was seen as a space with great social qualities, and the informal character of the kitchen was developed and exported to the rest of the dwelling. Today the kitchen has become the central space in many dwellings, but as the dwelling is increasingly being rendered representative value, modern kitchens are designed with emphasis on their aesthetic appearance. They are "life-style kitchens", which demonstrate the "good taste" of the residents and reflect their personalities.
An analysis of the spatial organisation of people and activities in the household
2019
HOW CULTURAL PATTERNS ARE REFLECTED ON DOMESTIC SPACE HAS BEEN VASTLY DISCUSSED IN SPACE SYNTAX LITERATURE. THE GENOTYPE ANALOGY WAS DEVELOPED WITH THE UNDERLYING NOTION THAT THE CONFIGURATIONAL PROPERTIES OF ARCHITECTURAL FUNCTION REFLECT PATTERNS OF USE AND ACTIVITY THAT ARE CULTURALLY STRUCTURED. THE PAPER WILL FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS QUESTION BY LOOKING AT HOW THE DOMESTIC SPACE IS ABLE TO ORGANISE ACTIVITIES, AND THEREFORE INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS, THROUGH THE SPATIAL DIVISION AND DETERMINATION OF ARCHITECTURAL FUNCTION. IT WILL EXAMINE A SERIES OF INTERPRETATIVE INQUIRIES ON THE WAY FAMILIESPERCEIVED AND USED THE DOMESTIC SPACE, WHICH WERE DEVELOPED IN THE 1970S IN PORTUGAL WITH THE EXPLICIT AIM OF RELATING SPATIAL ATTRIBUTES WITH THE WAY SPACE WAS USED. THIS WAS NOT ACHIEVED AT THE TIME, AND THE RESULTS PRESENTED IN THE PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS WERE NOT ABLE TO TAKE SPACE INTO CONSIDERATION. THE PAPER FOCUSES ON TWO QUESTIONS WHICH WERE PROPOSED AT THE TIME AS BEING MAJOR IN HOW RE...
Meia-água: producing space and kinship in an irregular housing subdivision in Rio de Janeiro
Articulo - Journal of Urban Research, 2019
As owners of a land plot, the poor families living in Rio de Janeiro’s loteamentos periféricos (“peripheral housing subdivisions”) have evolved their own unique ways of using their land, often with scant regard for building regulations. This is the case of the meia-água, a rectangular single-story backyard construction with a mono-pitched roof. At first sight, it seems people build meia-águas simply as a means to lower construction costs, but in doing so, they offer an insight into the socio-spatial hierarchies and kinship dynamics that shape the production of space. Thus, as the family move from the meia-água at the rear to the true house at the front of the plot, the former may be abandoned completely, turned into a workshop for small-scale economic activities, or provide a means to divide the land. People would also allow their married children and ageing parents to build or occupy meia-águas, so that they can take care of one another without compromising each other’s privacy. In this case, the land plot has a centripetal effect on the “configuration of houses”.