URBAN REQUALIFICATION

The intervention area presents itself diverse, both within the qualification of public spaces, and at the level of density and clarity of the urban fabric. The metropolitan railway line and the west radial highway create a very strong barrier, both physically and in terms of vision, dividing the area of ​​intervention in two distinct realities: on one side we have the area of ​​the stadium and its soroundings, fully consolidated, and on the other end we have a fragmented occupation, poor road design layout, abandoned buildings and the obvious problem of slums.

The main objectives of the intervention were the interconnection of these two realities by creating communication structures for pedestrians and cars smoothing out the presence of the railway line and including it as part of the city; cleaning the area surrounding the Maracana, emphasizing the presence of the stadium as an architectural object, while improving its existing plaza space and providing it with support to enable the large concentration of people that it is constantly subjected to; the revitalization of the area surrounding the slum Mangueira providing for the creation of an urban area with housing and sports equipment, as well as the creation of public spaces that serve the new urban hub; and ultimately improve access to sporting and residential areas by public transport, proposing a strategic location for the construction of an intermodal station.

From the wider scale (urban) to the most particular (architectural and landscaping) there were problematic issues arising, to which we were trying to give a consistent proposal. The most obvious and impositive issue was the barrier created by the railroad tracks. We propose a circulation system above the line, driven by the sports equipment. All equipment adjacent to the Maracana, except for the "Maracanazinho" are transported to the other end, well supported by businesses and public spaces in order to bring the movements of people from the south to the north of the line. Finally we propose a residential area which is intended to increase this flow, boost the reconstruction of a school and a fire station and encourage a process of approchement and closer interaction with the slum Mangueira.

Designed in colaboration with Ana Luisa Lopes and Mariana Lopes.